Between Now and Then
by Erikthephantom07
Summary: Two years after Hogwarts, the fate of the wizarding world is in the hand of the Marauders. Rough odds, angry werewolves, and an evil wizard on their tails...and you thought the Trio had it rough. Sequel to Veiled Revelations.
1. The Main Events

**Hello friends! (don't worry, this'll be brief, I promise you). This is the start of my longer story, which takes place two years after the Marauders leave Hogwarts. It is the sequel to Veiled Revelations (on this site), though it's not necessary for you to have read that before this (I'd probably recommend it, though it would be an insanely interesting to hear the reaction to this without a VR background... NOTE: this is not yet completed.**

Chapter One

The Main Events

_"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"_

_A crash._

_The sound of someone stumbling through a room._

_A high pitched laugh._

_A flash of green light._

The early morning light shone through the paned window glass as he put the final touches on his dress robe. The full length mirror in front of him showed his perfectly cleaned figure. He took a deep breath as he studied himself in the mirror. He had been waiting for this day for what seemed like an eternity. He knew he was ready, but he couldn't stop the nervousness which had begun to make his palms sweat. He ran his hand through his hair absent mindedly. "Here we go," he smiled to himself nervously, and pocketed his wand.

He stepped out of the small flat he had been staying in and walked the few blocks to where the event would take place. The stone roadways were riddled with puddles from the rain the night before, and the sun reflected brilliantly on the street. He cleared his throat and walked up to the large church building in front of him. It made sense why they would have chosen that particular church to meet. It was an old, run down building which no person ever entered. It was in a back street of the town where people rarely traveled.

Here, there was little or no chance of discovery, and they could conduct their meeting in peace. Even so, he glanced around quickly before entering, trained to always be on the alert. His breath caught in his throat upon entrance. The inside of the building was enormous. The only light in the church came from the many candles that flickered on the walls which illuminated the Gothic architecture that held the building in place. The dim lighting also exaggerated the amount of dust that was floating calmly through the air, as the church hadn't been used for at least two decades.

The dim lighting and the dust created a surreal feeling as he took in his surroundings. It was as if he'd stepped into another dimension. The rusting statues that adorned the walls lifted their eyes to the rafters, stretching to heaven the memory of how grand the church had once been. He sat in the last pew, pulling out an old missalette to thumb through while he waited.

He did not have to wait long. The pews filled quickly with faces he had only seen in photographs. Two people caught his eye as he casually glanced around. Both had black hair and were astonishingly good looking. Of the pair, the one that stood out the most was a tall woman with the penetrating grey eyes that they both shared. They barely spoke to each other and they paid him no heed as they took their seemingly reserved seats. A few prominent people stood and walked to the front of the church and turned to face the congregation.

_Now, on to the main event..._ he thought as he gave a respectful nod to a person who had passed him. A woman who had been sitting in the first run-down pew stood and walked to the center to a man with white blonde hair. This woman was exceptionally beautiful. She was the only one in the room wearing white robes, and it blended with her fair skin and blonde hair to create the illusion that she was shining. The man with the white blonde hair took her arm and they began speaking to the congregation of continuing pure blood lines.

He glanced up to the towering, slowly decaying rafters and, if one had been paying him any heed, seemed to mutter something. In an instant, the candles had suddenly extinguished themselves. The church was plunged into darkness, and the once silent crowd began to murmur to each other, until a single word resounded through the church: " i_Lumos!_"

A single light illuminated the church as the man with white blonde hair standing at the altar held up his wand. The gathered people glanced around but found no evidence of anything other than a trick of the wind. The man at the altar muttered a phrase which brought the candles back to shining life. The meeting continued as if there had been no interruption save for the fact that one guest, who had been sitting in the last pew, had disappeared.

"So they actually went through with it?" a man with dark hair and grey eyes sighed to him as he entered a small, dark room. The man was sitting on a low armchair, and this room was lit by a single candelabrum, which was located in the far right corner of the room.

The furniture itself was dark and shabby. It was organized in a hurried fashion with no real care put into it. Pieces of parchment were scattered at odd ends of it. The man was not alone. There was another figure standing off to the side of his armchair, but he was indiscernible. "I had hoped she'd get cold feet and back out."

"Come on," he said as he removed his cloak and flung it over another armchair. "You didn't seriously think they'd call it off because they suspected something, did you?" he asked as he sunk into the chair.

The other man shrugged. "I did _Siriusly_ think it," he retorted with a snicker.

"I heard that," a hoarse voice which belonged to the indiscernible figure called from the darkness. "And no, he didn't really think they'd call it off. I suppose it was an unrealistic hope we all had. Nobody recognized you, did they, James?"

James Potter shook his head and placed his wand and a small card on a table next to him. "Nah, I don't think so." They sat in silence for a few moments. "She looked really beautiful, Sirius. You should've gone."

Sirius Black rolled his grey eyes and brushed his hair out of his face. "Like I'd want to see them. But 'Cissy was always beautiful. I knew she'd be today." Sirius picked at a darn in the shabby armchair. "Did you see anyone else there?" he asked at length in a would-be casual voice.

"Regulus," James replied quietly. Sirius stiffened. "He looked alright," James added with a shrug. Sirius nodded, and James looked over at the figure in the darkness, but turned his gaze back to Sirius. "I also saw Bellatrix."

Sirius made a noise. "Oh wonderful. As if she even cares about any of them."

"Who else was there, James?" the hoarse voice asked.

"Well, Malfoy, obviously," James answered, a ghost of a grin playing across his face.

"I was hoping he'd somehow miss it," the hoarse voice said and walked over to James's armchair. Remus Lupin picked up the piece of paper which was sitting on the table beside James's chair. "Had they been married that morning, then? Before the meeting?"

"Yep," James sighed. "Infiltrating the meeting was easy, though. Hopefully this is how they'll deal with us later," he added with a grin, but then glanced at his watch. "I'd better get my paperwork for Dumbledore finished."

"That's doubtful," Remus mused sadly.

"What?" Sirius asked in confusion. "That he'll finish Dumbledore's paperwork? If so, I completely agree."

"No!" Remus said, shooting him a deathly stare. "It's doubtful that the Death Eaters will deal with us so easily in the future. I can't help thinking they did this on purpose..." He suddenly began to grin. "So, Prongs, how was your first real mission?"

A wide smile spread across James's face. "It was excellent."

Lily Evans brushed her thick red hair out of her face. The July air was stifling as she stood outside of a little house near London. Her hair was tied up in a large clip, but the sweat and the heat had caused many pieces of it to fall down around her face. At long last the door opened, and Lily opened her mouth in greeting. The occupant of the house, however, turned on her heel and walked back into the foyer. Lily rolled her eyes and walked in.

"How have you been, Petunia?" Lily tried politely to the retreating head of blonde hair.

"I _was_ fine," Petunia Evans scowled.

Lily pulled off her light coat and draped it over the stair's banister, leaving her in a simple green top which let her cool off. She wasn't used to wearing muggle clothes, but she knew her sister would never let her into the house if she had worn her robes. "Are mum and dad home?" Lily asked as she took off a green scarf that James had given to her on her birthday.

"Not yet," Petunia said tersely. Lily walked into the kitchen where Petunia was preparing a meal. The table setting in the dining room was for six and Lily suddenly remembered that both she and Petunia were expecting guests. The problem was that she had no idea who Petunia was having over.

"Thank you for setting the places, Petunia," Lily said in the same polite tone, but when Petunia didn't answer she found herself wishing that her parents would return. They finally did after what seemed like and eternity, and soon the house was filled with some semblance of merriment. The four of them - Mr. Kenneth Evans, Mrs. Rose Evans, and Lily and Petunia - set about putting the finishing touches on the house, which was receiving a thorough cleaning as a result of the guests. Petunia actually spoke to Lily during the cleaning and they seemed to be on the path to a good conversation when the fireplace began to smoke.

The Evanses turned and looked at the hearth with wary interest. Only Lily knew what was happening and she ran to grab a sheet from the cupboard under the stairs, but was too late. Petunia shrieked as a great amount of ash spewed out from the fireplace, followed by a short lived but roaring fire. James Potter stepped out of the ashes and brushed himself off.

"Hello, Evans family!" he announced cheerfully, and then froze. The once spotless room around him was covered in ash and soot - as were the three people standing in the middle of it. Lily was on the outside of the room and had avoided the dust. She looked on the brink of either laughing hysterically or yelling at James and he, since he couldn't decide either way, made a hurried apology. "I am so sorry!" he cried, glancing up at Lily to gauge her reaction. "I didn't know- let me clean that up for you. Yeah, you have a bit on your nose there - right, it's gone now. If you just shake it out of your hair- there you go...Nice to meet you all! I'm James Potter!" James thrust his hand forward.

Lily choked on her laughter as Petunia ran wailing out of the room. Mrs. Evans simply gawked at him, and Mr. Evans shook James's hand feebly. They had known that Lily was a witch and that her fiancé was..._different_...but they'd never actually experienced real magic by another person before. Not only that, but the house which they had spent so much time cleaning had been completely dirtied.

"I can get this for you..." James said nervously to Lily's two gawking parents, indicating the incredible mess around him.

Mrs. Evans shook her head, the first to break from the shock. "Don't worry about it, dear. We'll take care of it all."

James shrugged, but muttered, "_Evanesco!_" The Evanses gasped as their clothes were immediately freed of ash, as was everything else in the room. It looked as if there had never been any mess, and was as spotless as it had been before James had entered. "If Petunia had stuck around I could've done the same thing with her, too," James said casually as he pocketed his wand.

They sat him down on the couches in the living room and rushed out to fetch tea. Lily shook her head from the corner of the room. "That was a close call, Mr. Potter," she said with a wry smile.

James grinned over at her. "Yeah, well. You know me. I'm a charmer," he said sarcastically.

"Oh, of course," Lily rolled her eyes and went to sit next to him on the sofa. "The Potter charm that almost ruined him in the opinion of my parents. And I suppose it was that Potter charm that convinced me to marry you?" she asked with a smile.

James shrugged. "I'll still never know why you said 'yes'."

Lily looked at him confusedly and raised her eyebrow. "Why?"

James looked into her eyes with a little smile on his face. "You're too good for me, that's all."

Lily returned his smile, but they heard a noise on the stairs. They turned in their seats to find Petunia standing, still covered in soot, on the stairway. When she saw them looking at her she hastily retreated back the way she had come. "She's going to hate you forever, you know," Lily observed matter-of-factly.

"Nah, she won't," James said confidently, as if no one in the world could possibly hate him. "Hey, how d'you like these muggle clothes?" he asked, suddenly cheerful, and showcased his wardrobe. Lily had actually chosen the clothes for him in a memorable trip to a muggle shopping mall. He was wearing a pair of dark khaki pants and a dark red sweater over a white shirt, all which she had lovingly picked as he had gawked at television sets.

Lily nodded approvingly. "You're the best dressed muggle around."

He sat back down next to her as the Evanses returned with tea. "Now you must tell us, James," Mr. Evans said as Mrs. Evans sat and handed them cups of tea. "What have you been doing since you left school this last summer?"

James glanced quickly at Lily. "Well, I've just finished my career training and went out on the job for the first time yesterday morning."

"That's wonderful," Mr. Evans said indifferently. He was casually sipping his tea but always kept his eyes on James's face. James felt as if he were in front of the Wizengamot and was strongly reminded of his intelligence gathering situation the previous morning. "What kind of work are you doing, James?"

"He's doing the same work I am, Dad," Lily sighed pointedly. "He works for Professor Dumbledore, and you know neither of us can really say what we're doing."

Mr. Evans nodded, but did not relax his stare. "Tell me, James," he said after a moment. "Have you ever been involved in any other relationships before _our_ Lily?"

Lily buried her face in her hands, but James had been waiting for a question like this. "As a matter of fact, sir, I haven't. I have always only been in love with _your_ Lily." James sat back, as if he had just made a decisive move in a chess game.

Mr. Evans nodded, and he seemed to be thinking over his next move. "How was the trip here?" he asked at end.

"Uneventful," James said, though he had traveled by Floo Powder.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty."

"Do you like cats?"

"Yes, but I prefer dogs."

"How long have you been wearing glasses?"

"Since I needed them."

"Have you ever been convicted of a crime?"

"_Outside_ of school?"

"Yes."

"No, sir, I have not."

"What is your blood type?"

"Pure."

"I'm sorry...what?"

"I'm a pure blood, but that doesn't matter to me at all. I have a friend who's a 'half-breed,' even though I hate that expression."

James and Mr. Evans sat back and stared at each other. Mr. Evans glared at James for a few more moments, and then stood and took Mrs. Evans into the kitchen. As the Evanses left, James and Lily distinctly heard Mr. Evans mutter, "I like him." James winked at Lily, and they rose to help the Evanses in the kitchen.

For the fifth time in an hour, a large wad of paper hit Remus on the forehead, which was bent over a document. Remus closed his eyes and took a deep breath to regain his composure. "Sirius..." he began slowly and calmly.

"Oh, c'mon, Remus!" Sirius cried. He had been sitting back behind his desk in the dark room, balancing himself on the two back legs of the chair. He dropped down onto all four of them as he spoke. "We've been working for at least five hours now!"

"That's what happens when you have a job, Sirius," Remus said as he went back to his work. "People expect you to actually do things." Another piece of paper hit into his forehead. Remus slammed his hand on the arm of his chair. "For Merlin's sake, Sirius!" he cried, exasperated. "I'm almost done!"

"You said that two hours ago!" Sirius said as he got to his feet and walked over to Remus. "Let's go to Hogsmeade. We'll get Peter and James to come, and it'll be just like old times."

Remus rolled his eyes. "I can't, Sirius. I have to get to the Ministry tonight, remember?"

Sirius's shoulders slumped and he sat on the arm of Remus's chair. "The Werewolf people are gits. Let's blow them off like they blow you off."

Remus sighed. "Yeah, there's only one difference there, Sirius. If they blow me off, we get annoyed. If I blow them off, I go to Azkaban. It's that easy."

"It's injustice, that's what it is," Sirius scowled. "First, they make it nearly impossible for you to get a job - not like it really matters but hopefully Voldemort won't be around forever. I mean, when he goes, we're done here. No more Order work."

Remus shrugged. "He'll still have his supporters out there, and there will always be dark wizards."

"Ah, Moony," Sirius grinned and ruffled Remus's hair. "Ever the optimist."

Remus rolled his eyes but smiled. "No," he said. "Simply the realist."

Sirius looked out of the window on the opposite side of Remus's chair in silence. It was a very cloudy day, the sky dark and seemingly unending. "What a wonderful profession we've gotten ourselves into," he said with bitter sarcasm. "It's really a hopeless fight, isn't it?"

Remus also looked out of the window into the blank sky. "It's always been a hopeless fight," he said quietly.

Petunia finally came down from hiding as the turkey Mrs. Evans was cooking was placed in the oven for the final time. Petunia glared at James as she entered the kitchen but didn't say anything. "Oh, Petunia!" Mrs. Evans said happily, turning from the oven which James was examining in fascination. "I don't think you and James have been properly introduced. Petunia, this is James Potter. James, this is our daughter Petunia."

James turned and smiled warmly, extending his hand to her. "It's very nice to meet you, Petunia. I've heard so much about you."

She grabbed his hand and shook it once. She immediately crossed her arms and said in an icy cold tone, "It is nice to meet you, too." She stormed away into the living room, leaving behind an embarrassed Mr. and Mrs. Evans and a thoroughly confused James Potter. Mercifully, the doorbell rang at that moment and Mr. and Mrs. Evans rushed out to welcome the final guest for their meal.

"You were right..." James said in shock as he and Lily were left alone. "She _does_ hate me."

"I told you," Lily shrugged sadly. "She's hated me ever since I was eleven."

"I know...but I still kinda hoped..." James shook his head and went out with Lily to meet the new guest.

James's immediate impression of this person was one of size. He actually wasn't taller than James at all, but his width was bigger than most people James had ever met. He had a jovial smile on his face, but years of learning how to read people under Remus's patient tutelage showed James that this new guest was shrewdly eyeing his surroundings. The smile definitely did not reach his eyes as he shook hands with Mr. Evans and made a grand show of kissing Mrs. Evans's hand.

"Come in please," Mr. Evans said in the same tone he had used when he was interrogating James. He showed them all into the living room. Petunia stood at this man's side, and James suddenly thought of what Sirius would say if he could see skinny little Petunia standing beside this overly large man. He tried to push it out of his mind as Mr. Evans began introducing them all.

"My name is Vernon Dursley," the large man said ceremonially. "It is a pleasure meeting all of you. It truly is."

"It is nice to meet you, Vernon," Mrs. Evans said politely. "Allow me to introduce you to our daughter, Lily, and her friend James Potter." Lily and Vernon shook hands as he eyed her disdainfully. Petunia had obviously told him that she was odd, though James doubted she had told Vernon what Lily really was. Vernon shook James's hand, and James was shocked at the lack of strength in the hold. It was as if Vernon had something much more important to do than to shake another's hand. "Please sit down," Mrs. Evans said, and all six of them sat on the furniture in the living room. Vernon and Petunia were seated on one of the sofas, while Lily and James were on the other. Mr. and Mrs. Evans sat on two armchairs.

"Now you must tell us, Vernon," Mr. Evans said as Mrs. Evans handed them all cups of tea. James looked up from his cup to watch the proceedings, grateful that he wasn't on the receiving end of Mr. Evans's scrutiny for a second time. The interrogation, in James's opinion, didn't go nearly as well as his own. Vernon's answers were long winded and arrogant, with no real substance to them.

"How was the trip here?" Mr. Evans asked.

"Oh, it was simply gorgeous!" Vernon replied heartily. "The scenery was beautiful! London is amazing this time of year."

"How old are you?"

"Why! I am scarcely older than darling Petunia here, her coming in at age twenty one, myself aged twenty two. I find that with each year I possess a vaster amount of wisdom and it is, of course, always growing."

"Do you like cats?"

"I positively adore cats. Truly. When I was in my youth my mother, God rest her soul, owned a cat."

"Have you ever been convicted of a crime?"

"Sir! If I did not respect you so I would be absolutely affronted by such an accusation!"

"What is your blood type?"

"I am B positive. In fact, that is my motto: Be positive!" Vernon laughed heartily.

Mr. Evans stared at Vernon for a few moments before leaving the room with Mrs. Evans. Petunia and Vernon began talking about stock trading, but James distinctly heard Mr. Evans mutter, "I want him away from our daughter."

James and Lily sat there for a few minutes in silence as Vernon and Petunia continued in a conversation that's only purpose was to avoid them from mingling with James and Lily. When they could avoid them no longer, Vernon finally turned to face James. "Do you have a career, boy?" he asked curtly.

James raised an eyebrow, but Lily pressed on his foot with her own. "Er..." James began. "Yes. I do have a career, and I don't need to ask if you do," he added with a fake smile.

Vernon returned it. "What is it exactly that you do, boy?"

"_Exactly?_" James reiterated with hot anger boiling inside him. Lily cleared her throat. "I work with a private investigating...person..." James tried.

Vernon rolled his eyes. "Oh, so you 'investigate' things do you? When you say 'investigate' you mean 'inspecting' as in inspecting automobiles, correct?"

James took a deep breath. "No...I mean 'investigating' as in investigating...things."

"What sorts of things?" Vernon asked sarcastically.

"Murders," James answered casually, and Lily scoffed next to him.

Vernon blinked at him. "You...you investigate _murders_?"

James grinned wickedly at him. "Oh, indeed. All sorts of murders. By now I know quite a bit about killing, you see. It's something that comes with the profession, I'm afraid. Gritty, true, but someone has to do it, wouldn't you say, Dursley?" James sat back triumphantly and took a sip of tea as Vernon gawked at him.

Petunia was glaring at Lily, who simply shrugged. Petunia, of course, knew that while James's profession could technically be considered "investigating", there was much more to it than simply murders. "I think mother and father need us in the kitchen, Vernon," she said quickly.

"In the kitchen...?" Vernon asked in disgust, but Mrs. Evans's voice suddenly broke through with, "No we don't. Our lunch is ready." Vernon and Petunia quickly exited the living room and James and Lily stood up.

"I have a feeling that this is going to be a very interesting meal," Lily said as they walked into the dining room.


	2. The Return to Hogwarts

Chapter Two

The Return to Hogwarts

Lily and James were still laughing as they completely exited the fireplace into James's flat. "That was terrible!" She laughed and plopped down onto his sofa.

"Terribly hilarious!" James laughed from the kitchen. "I liked the...the oven," James said slowly as if he were speaking a foreign language. He felt particularly proud of himself when Lily nodded to him that he had said it correctly. He retrieved two bottles of butterbeer and brought them to the sofa.

"James," Lily said with a wry smile as she noticed the butterbeer. "We're twenty years old-"

"You mean _I_ am twenty years old," James said merrily and opened her bottle. "You have to wait until December, and don't try to tell me you think we should have any sort of 'mature' drink. I know you hate them."

Lily smiled. "Yes, fine. Butterbeer is by far my favorite drink." They drank in silence for a moment, and then Lily again began to laugh. "Petunia's face when you froze her falling drink was priceless!"

"You'd think she'd be a little happier that I prevented it from spilling all over her!" he cried, "but no! She almost murdered me!"

"Vernon was in shock," Lily giggled, fondly remembering the bulging look in Vernon's eyes when the butter from the counter had lifted of its own accord and had flown to James's expecting hand. "He followed the butter with his eyes the entire time, but I don't think he believed it was really happening."

"He obviously didn't hear me summon it, the bloody git. A very practical man is Vernon Dursley," James said studiously. Lily snorted and rolled her eyes. "I can't believe your sister would go for such a prat like him."

"I can," Lily groaned. "Ever since she found out about me she's been looking for something concrete and dull to counter...our world."

"That's a bloody shame," James said sadly. "She's a pretty little thing. I like your parents, though."

Lily nodded enthusiastically. "They like you, too, James. It was quite obvious. I've never brought home a guy who was so well received."

James choked on his butterbeer and sat forward on the sofa, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "I'm sorry...could you repeat the last bit, please?"

"'I've never brought home a guy who was as well received as you'?" she shrugged indifferently.

James's world crashed. "You've...dated other guys...?"

Lily laughed suddenly. "Oh! No, James, I haven't! But I've had friends who were guys, but my dad would never see it that way. Even when I was nine years old he interrogated any male that walked into his house."

James glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes and tried to act casual. "So, you've never had any guys before?"

"No," she said firmly.

James grinned and reverted to his good mood. "Excellent. Hey, we're still on for Sunday morning, right?"

Lily nodded. "Of course. I'm really excited to meet your parents, James. Sirius always talks about them."

"He'll be there, you know," James said, "he always comes over for Sunday meals. My parents love him."

"I don't mind at all, James," Lily laughed. "I know you two are like brothers, so I'd better get used to him if we're going to get married. I expect he'll be at the house quite a bit."

James shrugged. "Only when we're not busy," he said slyly, and leaned over to her.

"Which is why I never let us drink 'mature' drinks when we're alone in your house," she said pointedly.

James stopped and sighed. "August is so far away...What day are we on now?"

"It's the 13th of July."

"Why did we pick the 31st?" he pouted. "It's more than a month away!"

Lily shrugged. "We'll learn patience this way...?" she tried.

"You're starting to sound like Remus," somebody groaned suddenly. James smiled and turned towards the fireplace, where Sirius and Remus stood.

"Hey, guys," James grinned. "What are you doing in _my_ flat."

"Oh, Mr. Padfoot," Remus said, shaking his head. "Observe how this species stresses the word of possession. 'My'. It's as if it doesn't want us here...but then, at least it didn't say 'our', then implying that it and its mate were living together which they are NOT."

Sirius nodded academically. "Yes, Mr. Moony. You are quite correct. Perhaps this certain species believes it's mating season and hopes to mate in private..."

"Thank you, that's enough!" Lily laughed suddenly and jumped off of the couch. "What are you two doing here, anyway?"

"Checking up on you two," Sirius said pointedly, but Remus smacked his arm.

"We came to tell you that Moody wants us at Hogwarts. He said Dumbledore wanted to call a special meeting about yesterday morning."

James furrowed his brow and shrugged. "Why couldn't he just send a message?"

Sirius laughed. "Oh please, Prongs. You know Moody. He thinks the mail will be intercepted."

"Which _is_ plausible," Remus said fairly.

"Whatever," Sirius shrugged indifferently. "But anyway, he told us to come and get you two. Dumbledore's made a portkey here to his office." Sirius held up a small wooden casket. "By the way," he added with a snicker. "Nice muggle clothes, Prongsy."

"Is Peter there?" Lily asked as she and James crossed to Sirius.

Sirius shrugged. "Who knows where he is these days."

"Oh, that's nice," Remus sighed.

Sirius held out the casket. "Am I my rat's keeper?" he paraphrased innocently.

"Are you ever capable of being serious?" Lily sighed.

Sirius grinned wickedly. "I am _very_ capable of being Sirius, Lil."

Remus groaned and rolled his eyes. "Twenty years old, and you _still_ use that joke."

"It's timeless," Sirius winked, and all four of them placed their hands on the casket.

"Lupin!" Moody growled as he stormed through the crowd in Dumbledore's office. "Lupin!"

"_We're_ here, Alastor," Caradoc Dearborn sighed. "Why can't you just ask us?"

Moody glared at him, but pushed through the crowd. Remus and the others had just appeared. "Lupin!"

"I'm here, Alastor," Remus smiled. "What do you need?"

Moody thrust a piece of parchment into Remus's face. "This look authentic to you?"

Remus took it and looked at it closely. "Looks like it. It's definitely the same handwriting throughout the entire document, not to mention it's genuine ink. I'd say it's good."

Moody nodded. "Good." He clunked back to Dumbledore's desk.

Sirius looked questioningly at Remus. "What was it? An order, or maybe a mission?"

Remus grinned. "No. It was a lunch menu from the Three Broomsticks."

Sirius rolled his eyes, but was secretly very pleased that Moody had grown to trust Remus so much. After the almost two years the Marauders and Lily had been training under he and Dumbledore, Moody had shed away his werewolf prejudices and had grown to trust Remus over anyone else - save Dumbledore.

A movement caught Sirius's eye. He turned to find Peter Pettigrew pushing his way through the crowd. He finally managed to break free and walked over to the others. "Hey, guys," he smiled.

"Hey, Wormtail," Remus smiled. "How are you?"

Peter shrugged. "I barely had any breakfast this morning, and only a tiny lunch, so I'm starving. You want to do something after this?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "We can't," he said sourly. "Remus here has a meeting with the stupid Werewolf people, and he needs me to escort him. You know Remus. He's bound to suddenly attack an innocent passerby on his way to humiliation."

Remus blinked at him. "Well I feel better about this, thanks, Sirius," he said sarcastically.

Peter's shoulders sagged. "But I'm hungry..." he moaned.

"Then go get yourself some food," Sirius said practically, and rolled his eyes when Peter looked confused at the prospect of eating out alone.

Dumbledore was standing behind his desk, and he stood when James and the others had arrived, dousing all other conversations. "I would like to extend my congratulations," he said warmly with his blue eyes twinkling. "To James Potter, the first of our trainees to embark on a solo mission." The group cluttered in Dumbledore's office applauded him warmly. James smiled as Lily took his arm proudly. "I received your written report here Moody scoffed at the fact that they'd put something in writing and, though it is unfortunate, I am pleased that you performed well."

Everyone in the room sat down on chairs around the office, some chatting amongst themselves, and other chatting to some of the portraits on the wall. "Phineas!" Sirius called heartily as he and Remus sat by the portrait of a sly looking wizard in Slytherin robes. The wizard rolled his eyes. "Haven't seen you for a while! How goes things in the hell house? I bet they're all pleased that their beloved niece has married into such a distinguished wizard family."

Phineas Nigellus raised his eyebrow. "Of course they are pleased," he sneered. "Your cousin has continued a great line. She is allowing the world a chance for a better future with another pure blood." He stressed the last part and glared down at Remus.

Remus smiled up at him. "I'm honored that you still remember me, Phineas. And, of course, my condition."

"'Remember' you, Lupin?" Phineas scoffed. "You have always accompanied my misguided great-great grandson. I daresay I see you as much as I see him, if not more. As for your condition..." he let the sentence trail off and pretended to fall asleep.

"Hey, Moony," Sirius jabbed. "You're not the only narcoleptic here."

Remus laughed. "Only after a full moon, Padfoot, and I wouldn't call it 'narcoleptic'."

"Yeah, I'd just call it falling asleep anywhere. At any time. All the time."

Remus shrugged innocently. "I get tired."

"Now," Dumbledore said. Every member turned to look at him attentively. "Over the past year and a half Voldemort has grown more violent than we have ever seen him. You do not need me to tell you this. You all know. Bartemias Crouch is working admirably in the Ministry in hunting these Death Eaters, but with the little information we have it is not producing many results. We know only that we are greatly outnumbered by the enemy, and that they will use any means necessary to achieve their ends.

The wedding yesterday morning of Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black has proven that they are determined to continue their plans for a 'pure' race of wizards to follow Voldemort. It also proves something much more dangerous. They are not the least bit fearful of appearing in a public place in hoards. They do not fear either us or the Ministry. Either they are very foolish or, which is my suspicion, incredibly powerful. I am afraid that this fight will only get worse before it gets better."

"There's a cliché if I ever heard one," Sirius muttered sadly.

"Unfortunately," Remus sighed. "It perfectly applies to this situation."

"As it is," Dumbledore continued, and any murmuring that had been taking pace was silenced. "I would like to formally welcome the five 'new' members of the Order of the Phoenix, who's training officially ended today with James's mission. At the next meeting I will assign you partners. Presently, however, if James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Lily would kindly stand they did I would like to applaud your hard work this past year and a half." The rest of the members of the Order applauded enthusiastically, and the Marauders and Lily exchanged warm glances with each other.

"Ah, Hogwarts," Sirius reminisced as he and the others took the long way out of Dumbledore's office. Most of the Order members had exited either through the fire or by a portkey, but the Marauders and Lily had decided to walk the castle grounds since no classes were in session. They meandered through the corridors, reliving past events.

They stopped at the spot where they had played their first real prank (which had been Sirius and James sending vines up the fourteenth floor wall), and Remus insisted they visit the hospital wing. He declared that he had spent more time there than he had in any other part of the school.

They revisited the floors where they had fought off the Death Eaters in their seventh year, and even went as far as to open the trapdoor on the third floor, though none of them dared to enter it. They had a pleasant surprise in the Great Hall when they went back to their seats at the Gryffindor table.

Inscribed into the wood on one side were the names 'Moony' and 'Padfoot', and on the other side was inscribed 'Wormtail', 'Lily', and 'Prongs'. They ventured up to the staff table and for the first time since their Sorting got a view of the entire Great Hall from a teacher's perspective, and decided that they preferred that view to the view they had had as students.

They spent an especially long time on the twelfth floor corridor, walking slowly along the corridors and feeling the wall which has previously held a corridor which led to a dementor.

"It hasn't changed a bit, has it?" James smiled as they entered the Owlery. "I'm glad. At least we know we always have the same Hogwarts to come back to."

"The same Hogwarts, eh, Potty?" cackled a voice.

"Peeves!" Sirius cried in delight as the school's notorious poltergeist soared from the rafters of the Owlery to hang upside in front of them. "It's been a long time since I heard your incredibly annoying voice! How are you?"

The poltergeist decided not to answer, but instead sent a wad of owl dung their way and disappeared, cackling. "I see I haven't lost my Quidditch reflexes," James laughed as he checked himself for any evidence of owl dung on his robes. Peter was looking miserably at them with the dung all over the front of his robes. "_Evanesco_," James chuckled and Peter was suddenly cleaned.

"Thanks," Peter muttered dismally.

"Oh," Remus suddenly said. "I have to leave, my appointment's in about a half an hour, and they hate it when I'm late. I'll see you all later." He turned to leave and began out the door.

"Yeah, see you all later," Sirius said abruptly and followed him.

Remus turned around. "You don't have to come, you know," he said.

Sirius shrugged. "Someone's got to protect the other wizards from you, you terrifying little beast."

Remus rolled his tired eyes. "Oh, thank you; how very noble of you. See you later, then." He and Sirius walked out of the doors, leaving behind James, Lily, and Peter.

"Has he always been this protective of Remus?" Lily asked in amusement.

James and Peter nodded. "Ever since our first year here," Peter said.

"What happened?"

"Apparently Remus got into a bit of a bind with Malfoy and Sirius suddenly showed up and saved his life, or something like that," Peter shrugged. "They never really said exactly. But ever since then, Sirius rarely lets Remus alone."

"With Malfoy?" Lily said. "Remus is always having trouble with Malfoy."

Peter could only shrug and they made their way to visit Hagrid in his hut.

_Remus made his usual long, slow return to Gryffindor Tower. It was late November, and the cold, stone castle air bit at Remus's pale face. He shivered and wrapped his cloak tightly around his frail body. His hands and nose were like ice as he walked nearer to the staircases. He rubbed his cold hands together and held them up to his nose, blowing into them to warm his face._

_"Cold, Lupin?" hissed a voice in his ear. Remus was roughly spun around before he could move and found himself face-to-face with a much taller, seventh year Lucius Malfoy._

_"M-Malfoy" Remus shivered, wishing desperately that he wasn't cold so as not to appear so vulnerable. He glanced around quickly and his heart sank as he realized that it was the corridor was completely devoid of all students save Malfoy and his two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle._

_"Perhaps your tainted blood will warm you once Crabbe and Goyle here have separated it from your veins," Malfoy sneered menacingly._

_"Or maybe he could just get to where he's going in peace," a gruff voice answered, and a strong arm suddenly pushed Remus back. Remus blinked and found Sirius Black standing in front of him, between he and Malfoy. "You were just leaving, weren't you, Malfoy?"_

_"Sirius, what are you doing?" Remus demanded in shock._

_"Just stay back there, Remus," Sirius ordered without taking his eyes off of Malfoy._

_"Well, well, well," Malfoy sneered. "Look who it is. The Black family blood traitor. Your parents must feel so ashamed that their firstborn son has gone soft." Crabbe and Goyle snickered and cracked their knuckles._

_"Oh,_ that_ was terrifying," Sirius mocked in laughter. "What are you going to do next; growl at me?"_

_Crabbe and Goyle looked to Malfoy for guidance as Sirius drew his wand._

_"Are you planning on fighting me, Black?" Malfoy hissed sarcastically._

_"No," Sirius said evenly. "I'm planning on fighting you _and_ your two fat mates." His wand was pointed directly at Malfoy's chest._

_Remus's mouth dropped open. How could Sirius be so bold to three fifth years who were obviously a lot stronger than he was? It was almost inconceivable!_

_"This is not worth my time," Malfoy said suddenly, "I'll see you again, Lupin," he growled, and spun away from them. Crabbe and Goyle shot murderous glances at Sirius, but followed quickly after Malfoy. _

_"Not without me you won't," Sirius promised as they left. Triumphantly, he turned around to face an utterly dazed Remus. "Are you alright?"_

_Remus nodded in disbelief. "Yeah...Sirius why...?"_

_Sirius grinned slightly. "A simple 'thank you' will do."_

_"Thank you," Remus said sincerely._

_Sirius blinked, suddenly uncomfortable. "Ah...well...I wasn't serious...Well actually I was S_irius_, but I wasn't _serious_."_

_Remus nodded slowly, not sure if he had actually understood what Sirius had just said. "Er...I'm really not sure if I actually understood what you just said, Sirius..."_

_Sirius grinned. "Oh, Remus. By the end of the year, you will know exactly what I mean."_

The warm air was lifted by a slight breeze which blew across the lake as James, Lily, and Peter exited the castle. Lily closed her eyes and breathed in the clear smell. "I love it here," she sighed in contentment.

"Lily an' James!" Hagrid's voice suddenly roared from the direction of his hut. Rubeus Hagrid stood in the midst of his pumpkin patch, waving his large hand frantically at them. "I jus' heard about yeh two," he snickered and winked at James.

"I knew it would happen, as soon as yeh stopped yer fightin." James and Lily exchanged a glance, but started laughing. "An' Pettigrew!" Hagrid said, suddenly noticing Peter. "I see yeh've tagged along. How are yeh? Yeh must come in an have a cup o' tea and tell me how it happened." Without waiting for an answer, he turned and hurried into his hut with James, Lily, and Peter following close behind him.

When they were all comfortably seated around his large table with cups of hot tea in front of each of them, Hagrid leaned forward. "Now," he said in jest. "I've been the kind host, now it's yer turn to tell me yer tales. How did yeh do it, James?" Hagrid pressed.

"Well," James smiled, and leaned back in his chair as if he were about to tell an old story to a group of eager children. "Where to begin? It was, I must say honestly, the most terrifying thing I have ever done in my entire life..."


	3. The Anniversary Gift

**Hey everyone! Erik here real quick. Thanks a million for reading thus far (it will get better, I swear it). I'd really _really_ love to here what y'all think about this! I'm not going to do those stupid imagine in a whiny voice _I won't continue this unless you REVIEW, guys!_...no. It's practically done already anyways. I just would REALLY love some reviews sad puppy face**

Chapter Three

The Anniversary Gift

_February 14th, the year after the leaving of Hogwarts_

The little box was like an unbearable weight in James's pocket as he walked up to the front door of Lily's flat. _I'm going to do it,_ he assured himself as his trembling hand knocked on her door. He glanced up at the sky. The sun would set in a little over an hour. _I'm going to do it now._

"Hi James!" Lily said cheerfully as she answered the door. "Let me get my bag, give me a minute." As she disappeared back inside the house James's hand clenched resolutely around the little box in his pocket. _Do it now. Do it right now._

Lily reappeared in the doorway and turned to lock it. "Ready?" she asked as she turned, but her face fell. "James, are you feeling alright? You look really pale."

"I'm fine," he said, his voice cracking terribly. "Yeah...yeah I'm ready..." he cleared his throat, his hand still tightly around the box. "Lily..." he began, looking straight into her emerald eyes.

"Yes?" she asked expectantly.

"Er...will you...er..." he bit his lip as she stared at him. "Will you check and see if I have any mud on my robes? I think I stepped in something."

"Sure..." she said confusedly, and James breathed a sigh of relief and regret. "You're fine. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Never better," he lied heartily. "Let's go eat."

"Good idea..." she said with a confused smile on her face. As he walked quickly to the curb and hailed the Knight Bus, she shrugged to herself and followed. The Knight Bus screeched to a loud stop in front of them and they quickly boarded it and took seats.

"Where to?" the boy in charge said boredly.

"Hogsmeade," James said suddenly. "Quickly," he added, putting a few more galleons than necessary in the boy's hand.

His eyes widened before he answered. "Right then! Change of plans! First stop, Hogsmeade village!" The groans of the other passengers barely affected Lily as she turned to James in confusion.

"Hogsmeade?" she asked. "Why are we going there?"

James shrugged and refused to look at her. "It has nice restaurants."

"So does Diagon Alley, James," Lily said. "Are you _sure_ you're feeling alright today?"

The Bus sped through the countryside and though Lily and James had both ridden on it several times before, they still found themselves sick to their stomachs as they finally stopped at Hogsmeade. "Hogsmeade!" the boy at the front called, and Lily and James made a quick exit. They stepped off and watched it almost fly away. James glanced up the High Street, which was mostly deserted for it was a Thursday and there were no students around. The only restaurants nearby were Madam Puddifoot's, The Hog' Head (which was not exactly _close_), and the Three Broomsticks. Suddenly it hit him, just as it had hit him to go to Hogsmeade.

"Come on," he said abruptly and grabbed Lily's hand. "Let's go to dinner." With a curious smile on his face, James led (dragged is almost a better word) to the Three Broomsticks. They quickly aquired a table, for Madam Rosmerta was ecstatic at their arrival. "It's been so long!" she cried and hugged them both tightly. "I've missed you both, and your friends, of course. You all made it so wonderful! Are you two still together? Brilliant! Come, here's a special table for you!" They had an especially nice table by a window with a good view of the High Street, and Madam Rosmerta hurried off to get their orders.

"Why did you think to come here?" Lily asked when they were alone.

James grinned at her, but didn't answer. "Happy Valentine's, Lil," he winked.

Lily rolled her eyes, but smiled. "And to you as well, Mr. Romantic. What's the deal?" she persisted.

"With what?" James spread his hands out as a gesture of innocence. "I just brought my beloved girlfriend out to dinner on a Valentine's Day which just so happened to be the one year anniversary of our dating each other."

"One year!" Lily gasped, feigning surprise. "I had completely forgotten this is where we came then!"

Panic set in the pit of James's stomach, which was already taking a severe beating from the tension he'd felt all day. "You'd...you'd forgotten?"

"No!" Lily laughed, her face turning a slight shade of red. "I've been counting down the days since Christmas!"

"Really?" James said with some satisfaction. "Lil...why are you blushing?"

"Who's blushing?" she muttered, her face turning even brighter.

"You are!"

"No, I'm not!" Lily insisted, and James decided to let that conversation drop. "You know," she began after a few moments, "I still have that little doll you gave me. It's on my bed."

James smiled. "I daresay I got you something a bit better than a doll this year."

"You didn't have to get me anything!" she cried delightedly. "But I kind of got you something, too."

"You didn't have to get me anything!" James cried delightedly.

Their dinner arrived then, and they enjoyed a fine meal with even better conversation. When they finally sat back in contentment, James chanced a glance out of the window. The sun had just begun to drop near the treeline, and the feeling of panic which had become prevalent throughout the entire day returned in amazing strength. "We need to go!" he cried suddenly. "Madam Rosmerta!" he called, and she was at their table in moments. "Here's the money, we need to leave!" Lily barely managed to wave goodbye as James again rushed away while holding Lily's hand. As they exited the Three Broomsticks, James stopped.

"James!" Lily demanded. "I am not leaving this spot until you either slow down or tell me what's going on." She crossed her arms at him and raised her eyebrow.

James grinned. "Fine then. I'll slow down. Walk with me." He held out his hand to her. She glared at him for a few more moments, but rolled her eyes and took his hand. Their fingers intertwined as he led her (at a leisurely walking pace) up the High Street. "Are you cold?" he asked her, and she shook her head.

"Not when I'm with you," she smiled. They continued walking in silence, all the while James kept his eyes on the setting sun. The Shrieking Shack slowly became visible near them.

"Close your eyes," he whispered suddenly. When she looked at him stubbornly, he added, "Please, Lily. I want you to see something."

Lily sighed, but closed her eyes. James smiled and went behind her, putting his hands gently over her eyes. "Can't you trust me enough to keep them closed?" she asked in jest.

"I trust you with my life, Lily, but I know how curious you can be. Move forward, I'll tell you when to stop." They made their slow progress up the hill near the Shrieking Shack. When they were finally on level ground, high above the streets of Hogsmeade, James nodded. "Alright, Lil. Open your eyes."

This she did, and was met with an absolutely beautiful sight. The far, distant lands that met her eyes were bathed in an orange light as the sun rose directly behind the distant castle of Hogwarts. "Oh, James," she breathed. "This is beautiful." Her eyes were wide as she gazed on the castle grounds and the light dancing across the lake. While she wasn't looking, James's hand crept into his pocket and once again clasped on the little box. _Now, it's perfect_, he thought, but still couldn't bring himself to lift the box out of his pocket. _Do it NOW you berk!_

"Lily..." he began, and she turned to look at him, and their eyes locked. He walked very close to her and held her hands in his. "Lily this past year has been the most amazing of my entire life. I know we're young, but I could never imagine my life without you. It would be so empty. I want you to know that you mean everything to me."

"And you mean everything to me, James," she said sincerely. "I love you."

"And I love you," he bent down and kissed her as the sun sunk lower into the horizon. "Lily," he said lowly as they broke away. His hand reached into his pocket and kneeled down onto the ground. A large smile spread across her face as she suddenly realized what she was doing. He opened the box, where there sat a silver ring with one beautiful emerald in the center of it. "You are my soul, and I want to share it with you forever. Lily Evans, will you marry me?"

Tears stung at the backs of her eyes as he looked up at her. She nodded at first, incapable of speech. "Yes," she said happily, her voice tight with emotion. "Yes, James. I will marry you." He took the ring from its place with trembling fingers and placed it on her finger. She gave a quiet little sob as she let the tears run free down her face. He stood up, her hands still in his. "Oh, James," she cried happily and wrapped her arms around him. The sun gave way to the blackness of night and the stars peeked out of their hiding places as James and Lily embraced. "I love you," she whispered into his ear.

He grinned widely and lifted her into the air swinging her around as they both laughed, staring into each other's eyes. Even as he lowered her back onto the ground they were already kissing passionately. Even as the moon's light bathed them they did not break away from each other.

"Well, that was sappy," Sirius muttered from their hiding place in the woods.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Give them a break, Sirius."

"How did you know they'd come here?" Peter shivered and looked across Remus for an answer.

Sirius shrugged. "James is an old romantic. No kidding he'd bring her to where they had their first date to propose."

Remus and Peter nodded at the logic of that statement, and returned to their spying. Lily and James were still locked together, determined to hold on to that moment for eternity…………..

"And that's pretty much how it happened," James finished. Lily's hand was in James's and Peter had dozed off in his chair (he obviously knew that story only too well). At the end of the story Hagrid wiped his eyes with his large hand and sniffed.

"Beau'iful, James," he sobbed. "Yer so lucky, Lily."

"I know I am," Lily smiled at James.

"I'm the lucky one," James said sincerely.

"No, _we're_ the lucky ones," Sirius said suddenly from the doorway. He and Remus stood in the door frame, and James saw that it was already dark outside. "We're lucky because we didn't have to hear that story again!"

They all laughed, but James couldn't help but notice that Sirius's laugh was more subdued than usual and Remus's smile didn't reach his eyes. "Let's go home," James said and whacked Peter on the back of the head. The succeeded in waking him up, and they bade their farewells to Hagrid. James rushed Sirius and Remus out before the others. "Alright, what is it?" Sirius and Remus exchanged the quickest of glances but didn't answer. "Oh, give me a break!" James cried. "I've known you both for about nine years, and I daresay I can read your faces by now. Tell me what's going on."

Sirius sighed. "The damned Registry people have kicked Remus out of his house."

"Again?" James said in shock.

"Yeah, again," Sirius muttered angrily. "They don't think he's being productive with getting a job there."

"He has a job!"

"I know, but they don't believe it," Sirius continued, for Remus had remained silent. "Since we can't give too much detail about it all, they won't believe it."

"Can't we get Dumbledore to send them something?"

"Dumbledore's got enough on his mind without me adding this," Remus replied suddenly.

"But where are you going to live?" James demanded. "This is just a little bit important, Remus."

"He'll hang out at my place for a bit," Sirius answered. "Just until we can find him somewhere they'll leave him alone in."

"Where will that be? America?" James growled sarcastically. "This is injustice."

"Tell me about it," Sirius agreed angrily.

"Tell you about what?" Peter asked as he and Lily caught up with them. Remus shook his head only slightly, and Sirius nodded.

"Tell me about the _exhilarating_ ride we're going to have on the Knight Bus!" he said, his tone changing suddenly.

"The Knight Bus?" Peter pouted, his shoulders sagging. "I'm hungry."

"Let's stop off at the Three Broomsticks then," James decided, "Though I can't see why you didn't have any of Hagrid's rock cakes, Wormtail." With a wink at Peter, he led the way to Hogsmeade.


	4. Grendel's

**OKAY! Finally an actually plot is introduced! HUZZAH! (remember reviews are appreciated  )**

Chapter Four

Grendel's

Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful as James and Lily arrived at the Potter mansion in Godric's Hollow. Lily had to remind herself not to gawk. James hadn't lied when he had said his house was large. In fact, he'd understated the size of the house. It was huge. It towered over them with four stories, casting a long shadow across the spacious front lawn. The two sides and the back were facing a large wooded area, so that only the front was clear of the foliage.

James glanced over at Lily out of the corner of his eyes, hoping she wasn't turned off by the splendor of his parents' house. He had to admit that now that he'd been living in his flat for almost two years, returning here every weekend was a bit of a shock. It really was a big house.

"Hey Prongs!" Sirius called from the front porch.

James and Lily hurried over to him. "Can you call him that here?" Lily frowned. "I mean, your parents don't know about you, do they, James?"

James shook his head casually. "Nope, but Sirius has been calling me that ever since he moved in. They're used to it."

Lily took a deep breath as they entered the grand foyer. She hadn't been too nervous at the prospect of meeting James's parents before she'd arrived. Now, she was terrified. A crystal chandelier hung over the white marble floor of the foyer, which was lined with two parallel staircases.

"Mum," James called, "Dad, me and Lily are here."

"Don't worry, Lil," Sirius muttered from behind her.

"I'm - I'm not worried," she shrugged.

Sirius rolled his eyes with a grin on his face. "Sure you're not. Don't worry," he repeated. "The Potters are great people."

"James!" a woman's voice cried happily. Lily turned to find an attractive woman with brown hair rush over to James and wrap him in a large embrace. "It's been so long!"

"Yeah..." said James, embarrassed. "It's been a week, Mum."

"Oh, I know," Mrs. Potter smiled. "It's still so wonderful to see you. And -oh!" Mrs. Potter gasped as she saw Lily. "Oh you must be Lily! You are so beautiful, dear! We've heard so much about you!"

"It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Potter," Lily smiled, some of the butterflies in her stomach dissipating.

"Ah, James," entered a man who looked almost exactly like James. He had untidy black hair and glasses, just as James did. "It's great to see have you back again," he said as he embraced his son.

"It's great to be back, Dad," James smiled warmly. "Just as it always is. Er...Dad, this is Lily Evans."

Lily bit her lip as Mr. Potter walked over to her. "It is wonderful to meet you, Lily," he smiled as he shook her hand.

"Ahem," Sirius coughed.

Mrs. Potter rushed over to Sirius and gave him a hug as well. "Oh, Sirius, we haven't forgotten you. Lunch is set in the sunroom."

"You can read my mind, Mrs. Potter," Sirius winked.

The sunroom in the Potter mansion was lined with ceiling-high windows which allowed for small rays of sunlight to creep into the room. The five of them sat around a little round table in the center of the room. Mrs. Potter had provided a little plate filled with club sandwiches and each had a cup of tea.

"This is wonderful, Mrs. Potter," Lily smiled as she sat down.

"I wanted to impress my son's fiancée," Mrs. Potter winked.

"Mrs. Potter, you didn't need to impress me," Lily said hurriedly.

"Nonsense, dear," Mrs. Potter laughed. "It was a pleasure."

"So, Lily," Mr. Potter began. "Are you involved in the same work as James and Sirius?"

"Yes, sir, I am."

"Can you tell us what you do with Dumbledore, then?" Mr. Potter asked slyly.

"Dad!" James cried.

"Sorry, sorry!" Mr. Potter laughed. "You must understand, Lily. James and Sirius are always talking of their work, but they never actually tell us what they do. We know they can't, but we like to tease them. For all we know they could be thieves!"

"Alright, Mr. Potter," Sirius sighed. "You've got me. I'm a bloody pirate."

Mrs. Potter rolled her eyes and turned to Lily. "We've learned to block out anything Sirius says on the matter."

Lily nodded solemnly. "That is probably the best approach."

"Hey!" Sirius cried as they began to laugh. "I'm glad to see you bonding but not at my expense!"

"So," Remus asked as Sirius walked into his flat. He sat in his usual armchair with a book in his hands.

"So what?" Sirius reiterated defensively as he sat at his desk.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Don't give me that. How did James's parents like Lily?"

Sirius smiled. "They loved her. By the end of it I think they were ready to adopt her, but I reckon James wouldn't be too happy about that."

"No, I can see why not," Remus laughed. "On a more serious note, though-"

"HA!" Sirius cried and jumped up in his chair.

"Oh, no..." Remus moaned, burying his face in his hands.

"I am _always_ on a more Sirius note, Moony," Sirius chuckled.

"Yes, yes, that's wonderful," Remus sighed. "Now, we got a message from Dumbledore assigning us partners."

"You'd better be mine because..." Sirius stopped.

Remus looked up from his book. "Because what, Sirius?"

Sirius sighed. "Look, we know James and Lily are going to be partners and that leaves you and me and Peter..." Remus continued to look at him skeptically. "Oh, c'mon, Remus!" Sirius cried, throwing up his hands. "I hate when you give me that patronizing look."

"I'll stop if you get to the point."

"Fine!" Sirius growled and intertwined his hands, looking anywhere but Remus. "I just...I don't want to work with Peter. WAIT! Before you go off on your 'but Peter's our mate' rant, listen to me." Sirius sat back in his chair.

"Peter told me at the beginning of seventh year that he thinks he's a Squib - no, listen," Sirius interjected when Remus opened his mouth to protest. "I didn't believe him either until I actually thought about it. We've always helped him out, and he barely does any magic anyway. I don't think he's an all-out Squib, but he's pretty much one. I just...you know the kind of work we're doing here.

"You know how dangerous it can get and will get. What I'm saying is...I'd rather have someone at my side I can trust to come through for me. Peter would just freeze up." Sirius stopped and waited warily for a reply.

Remus stared at Sirius for a moment, and then sighed. "In all honesty, Sirius, I was kind of hoping the same thing. It's not that I don't trust Peter, it's just that I know him well enough to know that he _would_ freeze up in a situation." Remus held up a piece of parchment. "Here's your answer, anyway."

"What's it say?" Sirius asked nervously.

"We are partners, and we've been assigned to go to Knockturn Alley," Remus began as Sirius slammed his hand on his desk in triumph. "And...we're leaving now."

Sirius froze. "Now?"

"Yep."

"_Right_ now?"

"Whenever you're finished gawking at me, yes."

Sirius sat back. "That was quick. What are we supposed to be doing there?"

"Apparently there's a small group of Death Eaters that meets in a restaurant down there," Remus answered, reading over the letter, "and Dumbledore wants us to check it out."

Sirius shrugged. "Do we just go like this? No disguise?"

Remus read over it again. "It only says to wear black robes; I guess so we blend in better," he added with a shrug. Sirius got up to fetch one of his supremely black robes. He started when he noticed that Remus hadn't moved.

"Er...Moony, I thought you said we needed to leave 'right now'."

Remus bit his lip and stared at the paper. "I...I don't have any black robes. My old school ones are in terrible condition."

Sirius looked at him for a moment and then went back to his closet. Returning, he threw something large and heavy onto Remus's chair. "Here, take one of mine. It's one of my school ones so it's not quite as long. I removed any sign of Hogwarts from it."

"Thanks, Sirius," Remus said quietly.

Knockturn Alley was as dark and dank as it had ever been as Sirius and Remus walked casually through the alleyways, pausing here and there in store windows to appear interested.

"Which restaurant did you say it was?" Sirius asked as they looked at a shop full of shrunken heads.

"It's called 'Grendel's'," Remus mumbled. "I don't know exactly where it is."

"Bloody hell..." Sirius muttered suddenly, his gaze had just left the shrunken heads.

"What?" Remus asked quietly and began to turn his head in the direction Sirius was looking.

"No, no," Sirius breathed and rushed Remus into the shop across the street, Borgin and Burkes. Sirius pushed him to a corner of the room where they had their backs to the door of the shop. A glass case stood on a pedestal in front of them, containing a withered hand on a cushion. The glass case acted as sort of a mirror, so Sirius and Remus could watch if anyone came into the store.

"Tell me who was out there," Remus hissed as he pretended to look with interest at the hand.

"Lucius Malfoy," Sirius growled, his gaze intent on the door in the mirror.

Remus went pale. "There's no escaping him, then. He knows us."

"Not if we're careful," Sirius retorted and pretended to look at a bloodstained stack of cards. "From the back you're pretty plain, and anyone in a pure blood family looks similar to me. As long as he doesn't get a good look at us we should be fine -"

The owner of the shop appeared from a back door at that moment and smiled at them. "Hello!" he said pleasantly and rushed over to them. "I see you're interested in the _Hand of Glory_ are you? Wonderfully useful thing it is. When you place a candle in it it provides light to the bearer only. Excellent for thieves-"

"I will be sure to inform a thief when I see one," Sirius hissed coldly. Remus tried to hide his look of shock at the difference in Sirius's tone. It was as if he'd become a different person.

The shop owner blinked for a moment, and then bowed foolishly to Sirius. "Yes, master. Terribly sorry to bother you." Remus watched him scuttle off and then turned back to Sirius, who shrugged uncomfortably.

"Alright, alright, so I was harsh. That's how these pure blood people act, you know."

Remus shrugged. "If that attitude gets us through this place please feel free to use it all the time."

"Alright then," Sirius warned. "But if I treat you like shit don't yell at me. These people can practically smell pure bloods. It'll be hard for you to fool them."

Remus nodded understandingly. "Fine then, I am your trusty half-breed servant, because I know people can practically smell those as well."

"Malfoy's gone," Sirius said suddenly. "Ten galleons I know where he's off to. Let's follow him." They made their way out of the shop with the same casual walk they'd used earlier and followed Malfoy's distant figure. He turned into a side alleyway, and when Sirius and Remus arrived they found it dark and deserted - save for one small shop on the side wall of a building.

The sign which hung over it was inscribed with a bloody green arm and the word "Grendel's" underneath it. Feeling as if they'd accomplished something, they waited a few moments and then entered.

The inside of the restaurant smelled like the bloody arm on the sign would have smelled. There was a bar at the side of the room closest to them, and there were small booths lining the walls. Standing level with the booths and bar, Sirius and Remus noticed a small set of stairs leading down to a large open area with a fireplace on the far wall.

There was one large table in the center, presumably for a large party, while the upper levels were for smaller parties. It wasn't until after they'd taken in their surroundings that they noticed that there was, indeed, a bloody green arm hanging ominously over a large fireplace on the far wall. "If that really is Grendel's arm..." Remus began with slight disgust. "Then it must be over 1000 years old..."

"Yeah," Sirius nodded. "Ew." Remus watched as Sirius suddenly slipped into the cold, arrogant manor he'd used in Borgin and Burkes. He threw his hood over his head and signaled for Remus to do the same. Then he walked purposefully up to the man behind the low bar opposite the fireplace and said brusquely, "Table for one. Provide a seat for my servant and make it dark. I do not wish to be seen." The man behind the bar nodded profusely and rushed to secure the table.

Their table was one of the booths on the upper level, and Sirius waited until he was satisfied that they couldn't be seen from the lower level before sitting. They sat across from each other without making conversation until Sirius had ordered himself a drink. "Sorry you can't get one," Sirius said sympathetically when they were alone. "They'd suspect something if you did."

Remus shook his head slightly. "Don't worry about it. I understand."

Sirius bent down to take a drink from his flagon, and doing so looked discreetly around the restaurant. "There," he muttered, his mouth appearing not to move. Remus turned his head only a fraction of an inch and glanced down out of the corners of his eyes.

The restaurant was filled with only a few people who obviously also didn't want to be seen. Everyone minded their own business, which made Lucius Malfoy stand out all the more, for he was with a small group of people who occasionally looked to the door as if waiting for someone. Half of the people were wearing their hoods to cover their faces, the other half were wearing black robes, but with the hoods down.

"Not so careful, are they," Remus said quietly.

"No," Sirius responded, not taking his eyes off of them. "They must think they're invincible here."

"How many do you count?" Remus asked as yet another figure dressed all in black glided down to Malfoy.

"I've got twelve now- oh God!" Sirius hissed as the figure who had just entered removed his hood. Remus's mouth dropped open and he had to remind himself to close it as he stared at the face of Severus Snape - greasy hair, hooked nose, sallow skin and all. "We're screwed," Sirius growled as they averted their faces from the group. "The second he sees us..."

"Maybe not..." Remus began slowly. "I have an idea, but it's going to be very odd."

"Doesn't matter. If it'll work, do it."

Remus slowly -very slowly so as not to attract attention- pulled out his wand. "This is going to feel very strange."

Sirius frowned. "You're not going to transfigure me, are you?"

"No, you don't need me to do that, do you?" Remus asked, raising his eyebrow.

"I could turn into your trusty dog..." Sirius offered.

Remus shook his head. "Too late. They saw two people walk in and sit here. If one walks out with a dog, we're finished."

Sirius nodded. "Do whatever it is quickly then, because they've started looking this way."

Sirius kept an eye on the Death Eaters, so he didn't notice when Remus performed the charm. Suddenly, he felt like an egg had been broken on top of his head, and then he felt coldness travel all the way down him. When the feeling was gone, he lifted his hands and looked at them. It took him a moment to focus on them, for they looked exactly like the table underneath them. "Disillusionment Charm?" Sirius asked quietly.

Remus nodded. "A minimal version of it. It keeps your robes as they are, but your body is disillusioned. They won't be able to recognize you, but you can still be here." Remus quickly performed the charm on himself. Sirius blinked at him, for he could barely made out the outline of his face, for it had become the same color as the hood which was behind it.

"Brilliant," Sirius grinned. Remus's robe shrugged. "Now we can watch them comfortably. You didn't by an chance-"

"Bring something to write on?" Remus said, and Sirius could hear the smile in his voice as he produced a small bit of parchment and a small quill.

"What happens if they read it?" Sirius asked suddenly.

"They won't be able to, because the ink is invisible. It's the same as the Marauder's Map was. You have to say the correct incantation to get it to open, and then you have to use _Aparecium_."

Sirius smiled. "Taking no chances, I see." Sirius saw Remus's hood nod. "Right, then. I'll tell you the names, you write them down."

"In other words you dictate them to me?" Remus corrected.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Hey, I'm a little on the spot here, alright? Forgive my lack of big words."

"In other words forgive your minimal vocabulary?"

"Shut up or you can go join them."

Dumbledore sat back with the paper in his hand. "Lucius Malfoy," he read, "Severus Snape, Nolan Wilkes..." he scanned over the rest of the names. "These people are confirmed Death Eaters, so our suspicions were correct. Sirius, Remus," he said looking up. Sirius and Remus stood in front of his desk. "Thank you very much. This is invaluable. Now that we have our proof, we can have the next group who goes there arrested with evidence."

"I doubt it'll be the same group," Moody growled from the chair behind Sirius.

"I doubt it as well, Alastor, but now we have evidence showing that Death Eaters have been there before. That place can be monitored."

"Are you sure you want to make the arrest immediately?" Sirius asked. "I mean, if you keep that place open for Death Eaters to congregate we can get useful information from them. It'd be an easy place to spy on their plans."

"With the correct spy," Dumbledore said logically. "We cannot have you and Remus in and out each day. That would grow suspicious."

"Send Peter Pettigrew, sir," Remus said suddenly. "Alone. He's very good at being invisible."

"If you think he's up to the task," Dumbledore nodded. "I will tell him."

"I can tell him, sir," Remus interjected. "Since Sirius and I know the place well we can brief him properly."

Dumbledore nodded in agreement. "We'll have him go daily, if that's possible."

"Very possible, sir. No one will notice him." With that, Sirius and Remus exited out of Dumbledore's fireplace.

"_Peter_?" Sirius asked in shock as they reentered his flat. "Why did you just convince Dumbledore to send _Peter_ of all people on such an important mission?"

Remus had a slight grin on his face as he removed Sirius's old school robe. "Peter is the only one who can get in and out each day unseen."

"How do you figure that?" Sirius frowned.

"Do you know anyone else who can become a rat?"


	5. Voldemort's Wedding Present

**Quick thing: this obviously isn't canon. I don't know what happened in the situation you're about to read, so just know that this is simply poor Erik's take on things. And it's fine if you disagree. Again, this is just my own thing.**

**WARNING: there's a pretty bad word in here once, so be warned.**

Chapter Five

Voldemort's Wedding Present 

James threw the final robe into a small trunk in his room. He was finally getting a break from his work and was going to spend the weekend at home with his parents, just as it had been when he was in school. Since the last Sunday when he and Lily had visited his parents, James had been enormously busy, filling out paperwork and analyzing the data Peter had been bringing in from _Grendel's_. The information they'd received in that one week had surpassed any information the Order had had since James left Hogwarts.

It was obvious to all in the Order that the Death Eaters were planning something massive, though what it was no one had any clear idea. From the information gathered, the Death Eaters knew of a secret group of Aurors (the Order) and they had a few suspected names of its members. This they had figured from the Ministry's list of unemployed, for many of the members of the Order had refrained from outside employment so as to devote themselves completely to their job.

Moody was one example of someone who stayed with his old job as Auror for the Ministry and worked with the Order, though the two went hand-in-hand. Apparently the Death Eaters had an insider at the Ministry and they were being fed valuable information. Peter was still working on figuring out the names of the people the Death Eaters suspected.

"All done," James said as he examined the pile of clothes in his trunk with satisfaction. He made to close the lid, but the tall, un-orderly pile of unfolded robes made that almost impossible. He put a quick sealing charm on it, and the trunk begrudgingly closed on its own, though it looked fit to burst. "I'll take you to your house first, Lil, since you're going on the Knight Bus."

"I can go myself, James," Lily called from the other room.

"Come off it," he laughed as he checked his drawers to be sure he hadn't forgotten anything important. "I watched you lugging your trunk here through the fire. Even in the short distance it was mad, and why'd you bring it here in the first place if you didn't want me to go with you?"

"I figured your place is easier to catch the bus at," Lily said practically and stood in his bedroom doorway.

James gestured at his bed with his eyes. "Only one month and two days to go..."

Lily blushed crimson. "You think I haven't been anxiously counting down?"

"Since we set the date?" Both laughed nervously and sat on the foot of his bed. "At least we get a break from all this tension," he said after a moment.

"I know," she replied. "I'm so relieved! I know it's always going to be like this, but a break here and there is more than welcome."

"Definitely," James began, and was about to continue on the joys of taking a break when something smacked into his head. "Hey!" he cried. "Oh, if Sirius is here, I'm going to kill him..." James looked into his lap where the thing had fallen and saw that it was a letter from Hogwarts. "Oh."

"I guess Sirius gets to live another day then, eh?" Lily chuckled. "What is it, James? Your acceptance letter to Hogwarts?"

James rolled his eyes. "Those were the days."

"I still remember getting mine," Lily reminisced as James tore open the envelope. "I was so shock, it was totally new to me. There was an entirely new world in my own backyard that whole time and I'd never known. It was like my mind was suddenly opened to something newer and better."

"I was just psyched because I wasn't a Squib," James shrugged as he unfolded the letter and read it quickly. "What...!" he said in shock.

"What is it?" she asked, surprised at his sudden change in mood.

"I'll read it to you," James growled. "'Dear Mr. Potter and Miss Evans, We have received information that the enemy is targeting unsuspecting Aurors, for they know that you are all going to your homes. I must ask that you refrain from visiting your families today, and reschedule for another time. I am very sorry for the sudden change, but it is for your safety. All other member have been contacted and told the same. Sincerely, Albus Dumbledore.'"

"Oh no!" Lily gasped. "That's terrible! I was so excited."

"So was I," James muttered. "I've barely seen them since last Christmas. I guess Peter must be doing his job well."

"Oh well," Lily sighed. "I s'ppose if it's in our best interests. I wouldn't want to put them in any danger."

"Me neither," James agreed grudgingly.

"I'll send an owl to each of our parents," James said as he stood. "Tell them why we couldn't get together with them today."

"We'll see them soon, then," Lily nodded. "They understand how our work is."

James grinned and shrugged. "Well, they kind of understand. Every time either pair of them asks we kind of skirt the subject."

"I can't believe they found out about us going on our little breaks," Lily said as James left the room.

"Me neither," James called from the kitchen. "This kind of puts a damper on this weekend. I suppose we still get off though."

Lily reread the letter. "I think we do. Dumbledore doesn't say anything about it here," she replied and stood to get her bag and return to her flat.

"That's good," James said as he returned with two bottles of butterbeer. "At least we can take a breather. Here's one for the road. What?"

"Where do you get all this butterbeer?" Lily laughed as she took one, heading to the fireplace.

"From my kitchen," James said slyly.

"Oh that sucks," Sirius said sarcastically as he read his letter.

"What does?" Remus asked distractedly over another document.

"We can't go visit our families, Moony," Sirius said, gesturing at the letter as he crossed to his armchair. "I s'ppose I can't visit my beloved mummy and daddy."

Remus smiled. "Yeah, you sound really put out about it," he chuckled.

"Oh, I am completely devastated, Moony. I don't know how I'll go on. What about you, Remus?" Sirius asked suddenly. "You haven't mentioned anything about your family. In fact, I can't remember you ever talking about them-" Suddenly, a large, white phoenix flew into the room. "What is it now?" he wondered as it settled into place. "No break either?" He frowned.

"Sirius and Remus," said the voice of Albus Dumbledore. "Come to my office immediately." With that, the phoenix disappeared.

Sirius frowned up at Remus. "I wonder what this is all about."

Remus shrugged. "Let's go, then." They stood and went to the fireplace, taking the bit of Floo Powder which was on their mantle. "Albus Dumbledore's office," he said clearly. Sirius followed moments after.

Dumbledore looked slowly up from his desk when Remus and Sirius had both entered his office. Remus froze in mid-greeting when he noticed the look in Dumbledore's eyes.

"Professor..." he began, dreading the answer to the question he was about to ask.

"Please come forward, I must ask a favor of you two," he said gravely, and Remus could tell that his calm composure was only a mask. Remus and Sirius walked in front of the two chairs by Dumbledore's desk but didn't sit.

"Professor, what is it?" Remus asked quietly.

"I need you two to speak with James and Lily for me," Dumbledore said softly. Sirius glanced at Remus, but the latter was staring intently at Dumbledore, as if trying to read his mind.

"What happened, sir?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Potter, if you recall, contracted a bit of an illness during your training. What you may not know," Dumbledore continued as they nodded, "was that Lily's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Evans, were also diagnosed with a similar illness around that time."

Remus and Sirius nodded. "Lily mentioned something about that," Remus answered. "Is everything alright, sir?"

"As a matter of fact, Remus, everything is not alright," Dumbledore said heavily. "You may or may not be aware of the fact that, at random times in the day, we have Order members perform random checks on the families of other members."

Sirius scoffed. "That's not really necessary. I mean, _Voldemort's_ probably watching my house to make sure everything's OK there." Remus didn't say anything.

"I called you here today to tell that, within five minutes of each other, Mr. and Mrs. Potter and Mr. and Mrs. Evans succumbed to their illnesses."

Remus and Sirius didn't move. In fact, they found that they had to remind themselves to breathe. "Are...are they alright?" Sirius asked naively. "I mean, are they in the hospital now?"

Dumbledore looked at him with such intense pity that Sirius began to feel his heart stop. Dumbledore looked over at Remus, whose face went from concerned confusion to sudden, terrible realization. "Oh my God..." he breathed in shock.

Sirius looked at Remus in dread and asked his previous question with his eyes. Remus shook his head slowly in answer. The impact of the sudden knowledge, which took a few moments to register in Sirius's brain, made his legs suddenly weak and he sat slowly on one of the chairs. "This can't be real..." he muttered.

"I am afraid that it is, Sirius," Dumbledore said quietly. "As terrible as it is, it is very real. You may be comforted to know that they seemed to have died with no pain or suffering. It took them while they slept."

"All…" Remus began slowly. "All four of them…?"

"Indeed," Dumbledore answered, looking at Remus very closely. "Rather peculiar, isn't it?" he asked after a time.

Remus looked thunderstruck. "So the illnesses…"

"Are actually real illnesses, or so the Ministry and Muggle authorities will believe. They've already filed their report. Mr. and Mrs. Potter have been pronounced dead from illness by top healers from St. Mungo's. Muggle officials have declared Mr. and Mrs. Evans dead in the same way. The Ministry is satisfied with the reports from healers and doctors, respectively."

"But _you're_ not."

"No, Remus, I'm afraid I am not," Dumbledore answered. "It is too coincidental. Both the Potters and the Evanses fall sick with a similar illness around the same time, and die the same day, only a month before the wedding of their children, strong opponents of Voldemort."

"Then you're saying…Voldemort knows that Lily and James work for you."

"That means that he knows at least one of them does. Voldemort may do this again, I must be certain that it doesn't happen."

"So you let it happen to James's mum and dad," Sirius suddenly roared, jumping from his chair, "and Lily's, but now that you're sure it's for real you've decided to protect the other people, is that it?"

"It's not, Sirius," Remus said quickly but Dumbledore shook his head.

"There was nothing we could do, Sirius. We had no warning. Both seemed perfectly alright, in spite of their illnesses. It seemed to be a normal case. James's parents weren't young, Sirius, and Lily's lived in an industrial city. This often happens. My theory on Voldemort's involvement is no more than just a theory."

Sirius shook his head. "I can't tell James this!" he cried. "I can't tell James that his parents are dead! I can't even believe it!"

"And off he goes again," Phineas Nigellus said dryly from his portrait.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Sirius roared and made for the portrait. Remus grabbed him.

"I'll tell them," He swallowed, surprised that his throat was so tight. "I'll go and tell them."

James slowly sat back on his sofa, his brows furrowed and his mouth slightly open. He simply stared at Remus, who was looking at him with anguished pity. James thought he could hear his heart - what was left of it- beating loudly in his chest. His throat constricted and he found it extremely difficult to breathe. A swelling numbness was filling him. He looked back up at Remus, and noticed Sirius standing against the wall behind him. Sirius seemed to be refusing to look at anyone and hadn't spoken the entire time. His breathing was heavy and audible throughout the entire room.

"How?" James asked hollowly.

"They...they were sleeping," Remus answered quietly. "Dumbledore said it was peaceful."

"This isn't funny, Remus," James said in a constricted voice.

Remus closed his eyes. "I'm not being funny, James. I'm being serious."

James tried not to mark the fact that Sirius offered no name joke. He seemed not to have even heard. James stood up, shaking his head, and ran a hand through his hair. "This is really sick, Remus. I thought you were better than this."

"I'm not doing anything, James," he said quietly. "I was told to tell you that-"

James rounded on him and grabbed his arms. "YOU'RE LYING!" he shouted in Remus's face. "STOP IT!"

Sirius was at Remus's side in a second and pushed James off of him, but Remus shook his head. "I'm sorry, James," he whispered.

Sirius kept a firm hold on James, and he noticed that James had begun to tremble. He was still shaking his head. "It- it can't be true, Remus," James said softly, trying to force reason on Remus. He spoke as if Remus was simply misinformed and that he, James, was going to calmly correct him and move on. "You know it can't be."

Remus glanced helplessly at Sirius, but he didn't know what to do. "James..." he said quietly.

"Come on, Sirius," James said in what almost sounded like a laugh. "You don't believe this..."

Sirius gritted his teeth. "James, maybe you should sit down."

"I don't want to sit down, dammit!" James snapped, his voice growing steadily louder. "I want you two to stop this shit and leave me alone! I want you to stop lying to me!"

"We're not lying to you, James..."

"Yes you are!" James cried and started hammering Sirius with his fists. "You're lying! You're both lying! This is impossible! It's IMPOSSIBLE!" James slumped onto Sirius and was suddenly seized with violent sobs. Sirius, fighting desperately to control his own emotions, hugged James tightly and let him sob into his shirt. James clung to Sirius with wracking sobs, the sound of his terrible grief piercing all corners of the room.

James buried his face in Sirius's chest and Sirius at last could not take it anymore. As James sobbed into Sirius, the latter sobbed on James's shoulder. Remus looked away from them, unable to bear the sight, his own tears threatening to stream down his face.

"I want to see," James said suddenly, his voice thick and hoarse. He pulled away from Sirius, who covered his face in his hand. James didn't look at Sirius. He looked Remus in the eye, willing his legs to stop trembling. "I have to see. Take me there."

"James-"

"What if Dumbledore's right? I have to know. I'm going…I'm going home."

Remus licked his lips. "Maybe you should see Lily first..." he whispered.

James's heart stopped. "What happened to Lily?" he demanded with terrible apprehension. "What happened to Lily?" he repeated and grabbed Remus's shoulders.

"Her...she's not hurt at all. She wasn't even there but..." Remus looked anywhere but at James.

"What?" James demanded, and shook Remus even harder. "Tell me what, Remus!" he cried through his tears, his voice cracking.

"The same thing happened to her parents," Remus answered, and James backed away from him. Sirius had sat on the couch with his face in his hands.

James stood a moment away from him, but suddenly lunged at Remus and savagely grabbed his shirt. Sirius made a movement on the couch, but couldn't move. "Why are you so fucking calm?" James spat at Remus, his face full of hot anger.

Remus looked up at him, and James could see the pain and grief in his yellow eyes, which were ridden with tears he would not allow himself to shed. "I-I have to be," he said quietly. "If I'm not...who can help you?" he asked tragically.

James had refused to cry in front of Lily. He had resolved to be strong, as Remus had been, so that he could be with her and help her. Even as she ran at him with tears streaming down her face and sobbing loudly into his shirt he hadn't cried. As he held her shaking body in his arms he hadn't cried. When they had sat down and she had clung desperately to him, like he had done to Sirius, he hadn't cried.

The house was in perfect order, just as it had been when James had visited not even a month before. The Evanses were, as had been reported, lying in their beds, seeming asleep. Lily sank to her knees at their bedside, her sister Petunia staring in numb shock in a corner.

A long time after, she exited, walking directly over to where James was sitting on the curb. She sat next to him in silence.

"Dumbledore says Voldemort may have been behind it?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

He nodded.

"Why would Voldemort want to kill our parents?"

James shook his head, unable to think. When Dumbledore walked over to them, James found that he had grasped Lily's hand. He couldn't remember doing that.

"Would you come with me, James?" Dumbledore asked quietly.

"Are you leaving me?" Lily asked, sounding like a lost child.

"I have to go somewhere," he said, not looking at her. "I'll be back very soon, OK?"

She nodded, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open. Dorcas Meadowes walked over, her eyes red, and took James's place.

"Are you ready to go?" Dumbledore asked when they were out of Lily's earshot.

"No," James answered, but Disapparated all the same.

The Potter mansion was, as always a beautifully imposing building in front of a lush green forest. James, upon Apparating, walked directly up to his parents' bedroom, unaware of Sirius suddenly at his side.

They looked, like the Evanses, as if they were fast asleep. James walked over to them and sat on the edge of their bed. Sirius, like Petunia, had taken to haunting a dark corner of the room. James looked at his father's face, so similar to his own, his untidy, greying black hair spread on the pillow. James, unthinking, picked up his glasses from the bedside table and placed them on his father's face. "I never knew you without them," he said hoarsely.

James barely registered the quiet footsteps as they approached him. His world was unreal as he stared now at his mother.

"James..." said the voice of Dumbledore. James moved his head slowly in Dumbledore's direction, but couldn't take his eyes off of his mother's face. "James," Dumbledore repeated more firmly.

"I was going to see them today," James whispered.

"I know you were, James," Dumbledore said softly.

"I didn't say goodbye."

"You still can."

James removed his glasses and drew his sleeve across his eyes. He didn't want his father to see him crying. He wanted to be brave, just like his father had always been. James heard a dry sob from Sirius in the corner, the latter turning away from the bed to look at the wall.

"Dad..." James whispered, repressing the feeling that tore at his stomach. "Dad I'm sorry." He moved his hand onto his father's cold hand. "Dad, I'm so sorry. I should have been here. I should have saved you. Mum..." his shoulders shook, but he fought for speech as tears once again began to roll down his face.

"Mum..." he found that he couldn't say anymore as he looked at her beautiful face. Dumbledore put a hand on his back. James clung to Dumbledore and sobbed, "Why? Oh God, why?"


	6. A Long Recovery

Chapter Six

A Long Recovery

James seemed to be standing still in a world of constant motion. The people he had come to know in his life were but whisks of color and movement. The sounds were deafening; whether they were of a person walking, giving him their condolences, or just passing by magnified themselves in James's ear, though no words were discernible.

It was surreal. He walked in constant slow motion as people rushed by him, always in the opposite direction, pushing against him. He barely recognized people when they stopped to speak to him. Whether it was the head of the funeral home, the priest, or Dumbledore, James could never tell.

The only person James was capable of recognizing was Lily, and she him. They couldn't speak, but they both knew. At the funerals they sat together, standing when the congregation stood and kneeling when the congregation knelt. They barely heard the words that were spoken and barely noticed the proceedings. They simply stood automatically if someone around them stood.

As the caskets containing their parents were lowered into the ground they could barely focus. They simply stared straight ahead of them with no heed to anyone else. The only contact either of them made with the world outside of their grief was to hold each other's hand and never let go.

Sirius and Remus gently laid James into his bed and removed his glasses. He had barely seemed to notice leaving the cemetery. They'd walked back to his flat, for they couldn't Apparate with him or go through the Floo network. The Knight Bus was out of the question. Peter pulled up three chairs for them and they sat around James's bed, waiting for some sort of response - anything to take their minds off of the tragedies of the past few days

Once in his bed, James lay perfectly still, almost resigned, on his back with his eyes gazing upwards at nothing in particular, trying to push from his mind the slow realization of what had happened. As he lay in silence, staring at the ceiling, his mind whirred over the events of the past few days. It was the first time he'd actually stopped, though it seemed like an eternity since he'd been left to his own thoughts.

He found that the dark regions of his mind were worse than anything he'd ever known. If only he'd gone that day. Perhaps he could have saved them. _Or, perhaps I could have died with them,_ he wondered dismally. _I wouldn't be in this hell if I'd died with them._ James immediately felt ashamed of this seeming cowardliness.

Lily had also lost her parents. Was she feeling the same? Did she wish for death just as he found himself wishing? James bit his lip as he thought of her own tragedy. He wasn't the only one suffering. Even Sirius…Sirius had been remarkably close to his parents as well. Who was he to deny Sirius his own grief by brooding?

James tore his eyes from the ceiling and glanced at Sirius. He was sitting in a chair near James's bed, his eyes staring at some place in the coverlet. James opened his mouth to speak – or at least he thought he was opening his mouth. He couldn't be sure of anything anymore. He tried to speak, but found that he hadn't the strength. _How embarrassing,_ he thought wretchedly. _I can't even talk properly._ James closed his eyes in an effort to regain his strength. The last thing he remembered was a dry cough next to him before he fell into sweet blackness.

Sirius coughed very dryly and Remus looked up. "Do you need a glass of water?" he asked quietly, desperate to make himself useful.

Sirius shook his head. "I'll be fine."

Peter glanced over at James. "Do you think he's alright?" he asked.

Sirius turned the other way. "I'm sure he's fine, given the bloody circumstances," he growled.

Peter glanced helplessly at Remus, who shook his head. "Do you want us to leave you alone, Sirius?" Remus asked quietly.

Sirius nodded, and both Remus and Peter stood. A moment later, however, Sirius shook his head. "I...I can't be alone now..."

Remus nodded pityingly, trying to fight back his emotions at seeing Sirius and James, the two strongest of the Marauders, in such vulnerable conditions. He signaled for Peter to sit and they both were silent, comfort enough to Sirius, and even to James, by their very presence.

A week later, early into August, James was up and seemed almost back to normal, though he was taken to trailing off into silence and gazing into the distance during conversations. He often went to visit Lily, but she refused to leave her flat and would only permit James to enter. James had to muster all the strength he possessed to leave his flat. Entering the real world was a stark reminder of what he had lost. Lily and James rarely spoke when they were together that week. They would simply sit together, occasionally holding hands, muttering words only when necessary.

Sirius was sitting, absent mindedly picking at the end table beside him when James appeared in the room.

"Hi, Sirius," James sighed as he sank onto his couch. "You didn't have to stay here, you know," he muttered after a long moment.

Sirius shrugged. "Someone has to keep the place warm while you're out."

The room again descended into silence.

"Sirius," James said falteringly. Sirius glanced over. "Sirius I'm worried about Lily."

Sirius' mouth almost dropped open. "Lily," he repeated in shock. "You're worried about Lily."

James glanced over. "Yes…" he nodded slowly, "so what?"

Sirius shrugged sheepishly. "It's just that…well…" James couldn't swear to it, but he thought he saw Sirius's face flush with embarrassment. "That's really…_noble_ of you, James. You put your own sorrow aside to help Lily. It's kind of…I dunno," Sirius muttered, trailing off.

James blinked at him.

"I…er…" Sirius began, "I could give Dor an Owl and have her check up on Lily, if you want. Maybe she just needs some girl time."

James nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah…yeah. It would be nice. I don't think the five of them have gotten together since we left school."

"The…the _four_ of them…?" Sirius asked falteringly.

"Well, yeah," James shrugged. "Alice we've seen lots of times, obviously, with work and everything, but Marlene McKinnon, Dorcas…you know. The old Gryffindor girls gang."

"What about Hestia?"

"She's on Ministry work in Paris, remember?"

"Oh…right…" Sirius coughed. "Yeah, I'm sure Dor will have no problem getting them all together…" He stood then and grabbed a piece of paper. "Might as well get it over with," he muttered.

"What?" James asked from the couch. "You two are still talking, aren't you?"

Sirius coughed again. "Well…er…more or less," he tried to laugh.

"What happened there?" James grinned, glad that the conversation was turning lighter. In the past week, his friends had been too timid to talk to him normally, when all he had wanted was a regular conversation to rest his mind.

"Ah," Sirius shrugged as he scribbled a few lines on the paper. "You remember during training how we were barely allowed to go out?"

"Yeah."

"So does she."

Diagon Alley was quiet as Lily and Dorcas strolled along with Marlene McKinnon and Alice Longbottom (recently married to Frank Longbottom). Dorcas had unexpectedly arrived on Lily's doorstep the previous night, insisting that they go out. Lily, who knew the Marauders too well, was perfectly aware of the fact that it was probably them, more specifically Sirius, who had orchestrated this visit. She had only seen Dorcas at the funeral, and that had been the first time in four and a half months.

Dorcas begged Lily to join her and Marlene and Alice at dinner the following night, and Lily found that she hadn't the heart to refuse. Therefore, she found herself among three of her closest school friends as they searched for a restaurant. They chose a quiet little place to eat (the cozy, popular 'Olovram's Sanctuary'), and soon they were reminiscing on their school years together and confiding their hopes for the future.

"I can't believe two of our group is going off to marry their school boyfriends!" Dorcas laughed as they sipped on the restaurant's tea. "We're being left behind, Mar."

Marlene shrugged. "Whenever Remus Lupin wises up and decides to propose to me only you'll be left in the dark."

Dorcas gasped. "Didn't you hear, Mar? Remus Lupin is a werewolf."

"What?" Marlene cried. "You must be joking! That's terrible!"

Lily looked up from her drink. "Why is that terrible?" she asked casually.

"Who'd want to marry a werewolf?" Marlene said sadly. "Think about it. I mean seriously. Remus is a really nice guy and everything but..."

"Remus is one of the nicest people on this earth," Lily shrugged.

"Didn't you know he was a werewolf?" Dorcas asked.

Lily nodded. "I've known he was a werewolf since Halloween in seventh year."

Dorcas and Marlene exchanged a glance. "Do you still talk to him?"

"Yes, I still talk to him. I see him almost every day."

"What does James think about that?" Dorcas asked, absolutely fascinated by the prospect of talking to a werewolf.

Lily rolled her eyes. "James, Sirius, and Peter have known that Remus is a werewolf since they were twelve. Can we talk about something else?"

"Married life is," Alice interjected suddenly, "the best thing I've ever experienced. It is so wonderful to be so close to a person and to share everything with him."

"Well, you and Lily are lucky," Marlene laughed. "You have Frank and Lil's marrying James..." Marlene trailed off as she remembered that the wedding was at the end of the month of August, so soon after their parents' deaths.

Lily smiled, seeming to have read Marlene's thoughts. "Yes, James and I are still going to be getting married," she reassured three other women. "We figure that's what our parents would have wanted."

"Marriage?" asked a male voice. The four women jumped to find a tall, extraordinarily good looking man standing at the head of their table. He had black hair which fell over his face in a way that rivaled Sirius, but his eyes were a deep shade of red. All four of their mouths opened automatically as he smiled at them. "You're too beautiful to be marrying someone," he continued, looking directly into Lily's green eyes. Lily moved her mouth slightly, attempting to form words. "I'm Tom," he introduced himself. "Tom Olovram. I own the place."

"Nice to meet you..." they all murmured.

"I've never seen any of you around here," he continued in his beautiful voice. "It's wonderful to see new faces, especially yours," he added with a wink at Lily, whose face flushed crimson. "I'll get you your food." With that he turned and left them staring longingly after him.

"He's better looking than Sirius Black..." Dorcas moaned as she watched his retreating back.

"You're so fickle," Lily tried to laugh, but couldn't stop herself from staring. Alice's eyes were fixed on the menu in front of her, and she kept muttering, "I'm married. I love Frank..."

Marlene laughed. "I'm not married, and the only other man I'd date isn't really a man after all so I think I'll go after Mr. Olovram now..."

This brought Lily back to her senses. "'Isn't really a man after all'?" she growled and stood, almost causing her chair to fall onto the floor. "Thanks for the invitation, but I have better things to do. See you at work, Alice." With that, she stormed to the door, but a hand on her arm stopped her short. She spun around and found herself staring into the shopkeeper's red eyes.

"Going so soon?" he asked, his voice full of concern. "Is it the tea?"

"No," Lily smiled tiredly. "The tea was wonderful. It's the company," she added with a frown.

Tom nodded understandingly. "I thought I'd heard something. I truly cannot stand prejudices."

Lily nodded. "Tell me about it."

"But you seemed distracted," Tom said. "Is something wrong? You were distant at your table, or was it simply because of the conversation?"

Lily shook her head. "No...no a lot has been going on recently. They brought me here to give me a breather..."

Tom smiled. "That obviously did not work. Would you like to take a walk?"

Lily opened her mouth to refuse, but found herself nodding. "I need some fresh air."

Peter trudged down the alleyways of Knockturn Alley and crossed into Diagon Alley. He'd learned very disquieting rumors back in Grendel's and was planning on grabbing a firewhiskey at the Leaky Cauldron before heading directly to Dumbledore to tell him. As he walked with his hands deep in his pockets he went over the words in his head.

_"The Dark Lord knows exactly what he is doing, you worm," Malfoy hissed at Rabastan Lestrange. "He knows more than all of us here combined, though that is not surprising when I see the mental state of some of you imbeciles." _

_This affected the group considerably, and their doubts were quieted. After a moment, Bellatrix Lestrange regained confidence and spoke up. "Tell us then, Malfoy, what he has planned to gain from this union?" _

_Malfoy smirked. "If he is able to turn one of them to our side, we will know everything Dumbledore and his pathetic group is trying to do."_

Who were they planning on turning? That was the question most prevalent in his thoughts. If Dumbledore was right then the Death Eaters had only a handful of names of the member of the Order. Two of the ones they had were James and Lily's, that was obvious in light of the murder of their parents. Who else did they know, or was it either James or Lily they were trying to turn?

Peter accidentally bumped into a couple walking, as he hadn't been paying attention to where he was going. "Sorry," he muttered. The couple didn't respond. Peter, annoyed at their rudeness turned around and, to his shock, saw Lily walking with someone who looked hauntingly like Sirius Black. Though Peter only saw the backs of them, he immediately assumed it was Lily and Sirius. He made up his mind immediately and Apparated to James's flat.

"James!" he cried as soon as he appeared in James's living room. James looked up from the sofa where he had been 'playing' chess with Remus.

"Hi, Peter," he smiled halfheartedly. "What brings you here? I thought you were working."

"I...I was on my way back and..." Peter hesitated, not sure if he wanted to give James such bad news right after his parents had been killed.

"And what, Peter?" Remus asked.

Peter took a deep breath. "And I saw Lily walking with Sirius. James...it...they looked really friendly." He paused and waited for a reaction.

Remus raised his eyebrows. "With S_irius_?" Peter nodded enthusiastically, and was surprised at the fact that James didn't seem bothered at all.

"Lemme guess," Sirius said as he entered with three bottles of butterbeer from James's kitchen. "Remus is beating you tragically- oh, hi Peter."

Peter blinked at Sirius. "You're...you're here?" Sirius shrugged and nodded. "The whole time?"

"Yes..." Sirius said, looking at Peter like he was crazy. "Why? Were you looking for me?"

"I...I saw you in Diagon Alley with Lily!"

"Nope, not me," Sirius laughed. "Maybe you need glasses too, Wormtail."

"I guess...I mean, I _did_ just see the backs of them," Peter said sadly.

"The backs of _whom_?" James asked menacingly.

"Lily and some guy who looked like Sirius from the back. He had the same kind of hair and clothes."

Sirius shrugged. "A lot of pure blood people look similar to me. We're interrelated, you know-" He froze as he noticed James's expression. "But," he said quickly, "if you only saw the backs it couldn't have been Lily..."

James's eyes bore into Peter from behind his glasses. "You saw Lily..._my_ Lily...with another man?"

Peter gulped. "I'm...I'm sure they were just friends."

"Are you sure it wasn't you, Sirius?" James snapped, suddenly glaring at Sirius.

"M-maybe it was me…?" he tried.

"James," Remus said calmly. "He was here with us the entire night."

James stood up and with a little pop! was gone. Remus sighed. "Let's go after him before he kills that poor bloke."

"This 'poor bloke' who's with Lily?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.

Remus shrugged. "If all else fails, we can hold while James punches."

James reappeared in Diagon Alley just as Dorcas, Marlene, and Alice were leaving Olovram's Sanctuary. James spotted them immediately and raced over to them. "Dorcas, Alice," he insisted. "Was Lily with some guy tonight?"

The three women exchanged a nervous glance. "Yes, but he was the owner of the restaurant."

James blinked at them. "He was the owner of the restaurant? What was she doing with the owner of the restaurant you were eating in? Why did she _leave_ the restaurant in the first place?"

Dorcas gulped and Marlene brushed her hair out of her face. "Well..." she began. "We kind of..."

Sirius, Remus, and Peter appeared at that moment and Dorcas and Marlene waved, but suddenly took a step back. None of them had time to question this odd reaction, for James was determined to get his answer. "_Why_," he repeated through gritted teeth. "Did Lily leave the restaurant?"

Both Dorcas and Marlene shot a fearful glance from James to Remus, and back to James. "She..." Dorcas began. "She got angry because...well...it was funny, in a way."

Alice sighed. "They were being more than a little prejudiced about..." she looked over at Remus, who nodded dismally.

"It's alright, Alice," he smiled sadly. "There's no need to continue. The streets are deserted, James," he continued with extraordinary calm, though his face was slightly pale. "They must not be here."

James nodded, his anger slightly quelled by the tragedy that was Remus Lupin. "I'll go to her house and see."

Sirius, however, was glaring at Dorcas and Marlene. "Let's go, Remus," he growled. "We don't need to stay here."

Sirius, Remus, and Peter turned their backs on the three women and headed to the Leaky Cauldron, which suddenly reminded Peter of why he'd been in Diagon Alley in the first place.

"Oh no!" he cried. "I have to get to Dumbledore!"

"Why?" Sirius frowned.

"It's about what I overheard in _Grendel's_," he explained in a hushed voice. "Apparently, the Death Eaters are trying to get someone from our side over to theirs so they have a spy."

Sirius and Remus exchanged a worried glance. "We'll head over there now," Remus nodded as they walked out onto the street outside of the Leaky Cauldron. All thoughts of a refreshing drink were forgotten. "This is really bad. What Order members do they know of?"

Peter shrugged as Sirius stuck out his wand arm. "That's the problem. The only ones they definitely know," he explained as the Knight Bus screeched to a halt in front of them, "are James and Lily."


	7. The Prince of Darkness

Chapter Seven

The Prince of Darkness

James paced up and down the small flat. Puffs of dust that had gathered on the floor rose about his feet. He was mercilessly biting the inside of his mouth as the hands on the clock on the wall slowly crept forward. How long had he been there? Two hours? Three? Did it even matter? _No_, James thought dismally. _I'll wait here until I die if I have to_.

At long last he heard a small popping noise from the kitchen. James froze in his tracks as Lily walked through the doorway. She also froze. "Hullo, James!" she said pleasantly, and he tried not to notice that it was the first time she'd smiled since the death of their parents.

"Lily," he said indifferently.

Lily blinked at him, waiting for more. When none came, she cleared her throat. "Erm…what are you doing here, James?"

James continued to stare at her. "Just came to see my fiancée," he shrugged, pushing out the last word.

"Okay…" she smiled confusedly. "Nice to see you as well, James. Didn't you know I was going out tonight?"

"Yes," James said, slightly harsher than he'd intended. "I mean, well yeah I did. With _Dorcas_ and them, you know. Did you enjoy yourself?"

Lily shrugged and made a face. "The last half of the night I did."

James stiffened. "Oh...oh yeah?" he asked, feigning casual interest as Lily slung her cloak over the back of an armchair. "Why? I mean, how did it change?"

"I went for a walk with the owner of the restaurant, and we chatted a bit."

James's mouth dropped open. "You're not even going to bother denying it, are you?" he cried.

"Denying what?" she asked, raising her eyebrow at him.

"The owner of the restaurant was a man, wasn't he!"

"Yeah," Lily nodded honestly. "His name is Tom Olovram. Why?"

James blinked at her. "You...you went for a walk?"

"Yes."

"And that's all?"

"Yes!" Lily cried. "James, what is _wrong_ with you?"

James shook his head. "Have a...I'll see you tomorrow." With a _pop!_ James disappeared.

"No sir, they haven't mentioned any names," Peter told Dumbledore as the latter handed him a cup of tea. "Thank you. The keep saying that one of Dumbledore's will be turned."

Dumbledore nodded gravely. "You were right to deduce that it is only Lily and James that they know of, though I am beginning to suspect that they know all five of you."

Peter started. "Why? I mean, how would they know about us?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I'm afraid I cannot tell you at this moment. It is simply a guess of mine. As it is, be wary, wherever you go, and be sure to inform the others. Thank you, Peter. I suggest you return to your home and rest. Tomorrow may bring new answers."

Peter nodded and left the office, where Sirius and Remus were waiting. Dumbledore sat and watched the door close, listening to Peter's retreating footsteps.

"You will not even tell members of the Order?" asked a dry voice from the shadows.

"No," Dumbledore sighed. "If it is true that the enemy is trying to turn one of them, we cannot risk the knowledge being leaked."

"Wise enough," the voice said. "The Dark Lord has many ways of getting information out of his captives."

"Yes, which is why what we are now doing is more important than ever before. Are you certain that you can handle this pressure? If not, it is of no fault of yours. We can quite easily send you far out of his grasp."

"No," the voice stated. "I am tired of yielding to the Dark Lord's every twisted whim. If I do something in this war, I'd rather it be of my own choosing."

Dumbledore nodded. "I cannot tell you how valuable you will be to our cause. More importantly, I cannot tell you how relieved I am that you have chosen the right path."

In the corridor, Remus had frozen in his tracks. The full moon was the next night, and his senses were usually doubled in that time. Therefore, he heard every word spoken behind Dumbledore's door.

"Remus," Sirius hissed. "Let's go! I'm starving!"

Remus resumed his walking, but couldn't help but glance back at the door until it was out of sight.

"What was wrong?" Sirius asked as they cleared the area around Dumbledore's office. "Back there, I mean. You just kind of froze." Both he and Peter stopped to wait for Remus's answer.

Remus opened his mouth to tell him, but something in his mind warned him to keep quiet. Remus shrugged, using the long years he'd had to develop the art of deception to say simply, "I thought for a minute that tonight was the full moon, that's all."

Sirius and Remus were just preparing to go to Remus's safe area when James suddenly appeared in their doorway.

"James," Remus said, glancing nervously out a nearby window. The sun was rapidly setting in the West, and a few stars were already visible. "Now is really not a good time."

"All day!" James breathed, appearing to not have heard Remus. "She's been gone all day!"

"And you'll be gone for eternity if you don't move now, Prongsy," Sirius said with urgent sarcasm. "Please," he said again, this time completely sincere. "We can talk after, but Remus needs to get away now."

James nodded reluctantly and followed Sirius and Remus to the outside street. There, they circled to the back of the complex where Sirius's flat was. There was a small courtyard directly behind the building, and in one corner of the area was a small storm door. Sirius opened this and Remus jumped down to the bottom.

"See you tomorrow, then," Remus nodded, and they heard him mutter, "_Lumos Temporare_" as Sirius shut the door. He muttered a locking charm which only he could undo the following morning.

James blinked, forgetting momentarily his own problems. "He...he just stays down there?"

Sirius sighed as they returned to his flat. "Yep. It's the only place safe around here. The Ministry," he spat, "has accepted it as a safe transformation area. I sound proofed it as well, so he virtually disappears until morning." James sat on one of Sirius's chairs as the latter locked his door. "Now then. It's six-thirty in the afternoon. When did Lily leave?"

The lamp lights were already burning in Diagon Alley when Sirius arrived. He had adopted a full length black cloak which covered him completely. James had painstakingly helped him slick his hair back and had applied a paling charm to his face, as well as a slight engorgement charm on a few of Sirius's teeth. That, in conjunction with his natural grey eyes, made Sirius Black look every bit the vampire.

The wizarding world is not half as frightened of vampires as the muggle world is. Though they fear them, as they fear werewolves, they mainly ignore them. A vampire normally does not attack a witch or wizard, for they know that they will easily be bested by them if they try. Therefore, Sirius fit perfectly into the Diagon Alley nightlife.

He tightened the black leather gloves around his hands as he began to search the streets for Lily and the restaurant owner. He hoped desperately that they'd stayed in Diagon Alley that night, instead of venturing off. It made more sense for them to stay in the vicinity - whether that be Knockturn Alley or Diagon Alley- for this Olovram couldn't leave his store for too long. At least, that was James's theory.

The first place he visited was Olovram's Sanctuary. He received many hard stares there, for vampires didn't often venture into places like that. He walked purposefully up to the waitress behind the bar and waited. He bit back his laughter as the woman behind the counter started in horror at his appearance. _Must be Muggle-born_, he thought to himself.

"Erm...ah..." the woman stammered.

"Where is the owner?" Sirius asked smoothly, adopting his best Transylvanian accent.

"He's...he's out."

"Where is the owner?" Sirius repeated, thoroughly enjoying himself. _If Remus could just be here, we would scare the robes off of everyone we met._

The woman gulped, sweat becoming visible on her forehead. "He...he left about a half an hour ago. He's been in and out all day. I believe he's nearby..."

Sirius winked at the woman then and swept out of the 'Sanctuary', feeling every bit the Prince of Darkness. "Call me Count Dracula," he snickered to himself as he passed a couple who averted their eyes. The sign for Knockturn Alley loomed overhead, and Sirius felt an irresistible urge to test his vampire abilities there. He stood for a moment on the threshold of the two Alleys, before rolling his eyes and plunging into the darkness of Knockturn Alley.

"Good job," he muttered angrily to himself as he glided through the entrance. "You've really diverted from your bloody mission." Nevertheless, he continued his journey into the heart of Knockturn Alley. He received less looks of fear and more interested looks as he continued his procession.

Chiefly, however, he was ignored, just as he seemingly ignored everyone around him. He figured he should turn his rapidly dissolving mission into something half useful by spying on the people. Perhaps he would find something useful to the Order and use that as an excuse for why his original mission failed.

The first thing that really caught his eye was a small group of black robed people outside of a small cafe. He couldn't be certain, but one of them looked similar to Antonin Dolohov. Sirius sighed. _There _is_ something to report to Dumbledore,_ he thought dismally as he neared the group. _Seems the Dementors really have left Azkaban. Dolohov's out._

Antonin Dolohov had been incarcerated in Azkaban since he had led a coup against Hogwarts in Sirius and the Marauders' seventh year. They had only barely escaped with their lives and Dolohov had been locked up, but rumors had been flying around about the Dementors abandoning Azkaban.

Indeed, Dumbledore had long suspected that many Death Eaters were leaving Azkaban, and this only confirmed his suspicions. Sirius's cloak brushed Dolohov as he made his way into the cafe where they were congregating. Dolohov only glanced at Sirius. He obviously didn't recognize him and rolled his eyes, muttering, "Half-breeds," to his companions. Sirius didn't notice another member of the group eyeing him keenly.

The interior of the cafe, aptly titled 'The Lair of Nosferatu', was dank and cold. It was only slightly similar to the atmosphere of 'Grendel's', the only other real place Sirius had been in Knockturn Alley. There were small, two person circular tables set at random points inside, though had Sirius had access to an aerial view he would have noticed that the arrangement of the table made up a pentagram. Sirius took a quick glance around the room as he took a seat.

There were a few other vampires who paid him no heed, and the ghost of a woman of questionable reputation who was glancing over at him with interest. Sirius gave her a small nod, but conveyed with his eyes that he was not interested. She pouted and turned her gaze to the rest of the undead. The waitress, who also seemed to be a vampire, came to take his order.

"Something small," he said coldly. "I have things to do tonight."

She nodded curtly and left him. Sirius tried to hide his breath of relief. He may look like a vampire, but he didn't know if could fool one. As he returned his gaze to his hands, a couple in the corner caught his eyes. The man, who he could see clearly, had black hair which fell attractively over his eyes, which really caught Sirius's attention.

They were an odd shade of red and they seemed to gleam in the dim lighting. Sirius tried not to stare, but his gaze always strayed back to the man. Sirius attempted to pin the man's age, but found that it was nearly impossible, for he looked neither old nor young. Unfortunately, as Sirius attempted to deduce the man's age, they caught each other's eyes. The woman in front of him turned around to look, and Sirius tried to hide his shock. It was Lily.

She seemed not to recognize him. As a matter of fact, she seemed slightly frightened of him, and turned to say a quick word to the man who Sirius thought to be Tom Olovram. To his dismay, they both stood, and Tom walked purposefully over to where Sirius sat.

"Good evening," Tom said as his red eyes bore uncomfortably into Sirius's.

"Good evening," Sirius nodded and rose. He suddenly saw Lily again, for Tom's height had temporarily blocked her from view. "I believe that I have ruined your meal," Sirius apologized coolly, watching Lily's face contort with a growing sense of familiarity. She stared at Sirius, trying to remember where she'd seen him before.

"Indeed," Tom said in the same tone. "I would like to know why."

Sirius spread his hands in a gesture of openness. "You know my weakness for beautiful women," he shrugged.

"I have never seen you around here," Tom observed coldly.

"You come here often, then?" Sirius challenged, trying to get a confession out of him which would turn Lily from her friendship.

Tom's eyes narrowed at Sirius for, though he didn't know him, he sensed the nature of the question and realized that he was momentarily trapped. "I have family in these parts," he shrugged indifferently. "Come, Lily," he said icily, "we should return to the store."

"Lily..." Sirius said. "I shall have to remember that name."

Tom whirled around. "You shall have to forget you ever saw us."

The menace in Tom's voice was piercing and Sirius staggered backwards. "I will," he said immediately, loosing the suave tone he'd been using. Tom smiled in return, his red eyes glinting. As Lily and Tom exited 'The Lair', Lily turned around to get one last look at Sirius, who put his finger to his lips and shook his head. Lily's face suddenly betrayed her realization. She quickly turned back around and followed Tom out of Knockturn Alley. Sirius sighed. _That answers _that_ question_.

He stood and threw a few Sickles on the table, not bothering to wait for his order. He stalked out of the cafe, not bothering to look at the group, which had remained rooted to their spot the entire time. Now, as he made to leave Knockturn Alley, they moved. He immediately found himself surrounded by five or so people in hooded robes.

"Move," Sirius ordered stonily.

"We don't listen to vampires," the leader hissed.

"Move, Lucius Malfoy, unless you wish to return to a dead wife tonight," Sirius inwardly smiled at the silence that descended on the group.

"So," Malfoy said, removing his hood to reveal silver-blond hair which glinted in the full moon light. "You know who I am. Is this the legendary wisdom of the vampires?" he scoffed.

"Laugh if you will," Sirius continued, "but I am sure that the Aurors will be interested to know where Antonin Dolohov is hiding out." Again, the awesome silence descended on the group.

"You know our names, and our number," Malfoy hissed, "but I am afraid you cannot defeat us."

"And _I_ am afraid you are gravely mistaken, but fight me if you wish. I am hungry," Sirius watched the effect of his words. Apparently, even pure bloods had an innate fear of the undead.

Malfoy whipped out his wand and cried a dark spell that Sirius had never heard of. He Disapparated in the knick of time and reappeared behind Malfoy. With a twinge of fear, he remembered that vampires did not fight with wands, and that they couldn't be hurt or killed by any spell. Sirius realized that, to be convincing, he would have to simply dodge every spell. Malfoy whirled around and muttered the same spell. It hit Sirius dead on and sent him staggering back.

When the spell had little effect on him, he suddenly smiled. Malfoy was using an ancient wizarding spell which worked just the same as a wooden stake in the heart of a vampire. Against the immortal, it would have fatal consequences. Against the mortal, however, it simply left an unhappy bruise. Sirius sighed with relief, but suddenly had an idea.

"_Wingardium Leviosa!_" he muttered, barely audible as Malfoy walked triumphantly over to his 'defeated' opponent. Sirius pointed his wand at himself underneath his cloak, and he slowly rose off of the ground. "_Sonorus!_" he muttered again.

Malfoy froze as Sirius stood in the air in front of him. "You truly think that you can defeat the Prince of Darkness?" Sirius mocked evilly, his voice resounding in all corners of the Alley. Every person within earshot shrunk against the wall, leaving only Malfoy standing in front of Sirius, who was looming five feet above him.

Sirius spread out his arms, and his cloak remained draped over them, giving the effect of wings. He chuckled to himself when he thought of how it must look: a black, winged figure raised above the heads of the petty mortals before him, all that is visible is that white face.

"Who are you!" Malfoy cried and shot another spell at Sirius, who again Disapparated behind Malfoy.

"Count Dracula," Sirius hissed in Malfoy's ear and summoned all of his strength. He sent Malfoy hurling across the Alley into a small arrangement of disembodied arms and legs.

Sirius pointed his wand at himself and prepared to disappear for good when Malfoy pulled out his wand and cried, "_Avada Kedavra!_" The jet of green light hit a passerby as "Dracula" disappeared, though if one squinted against the night sky there could be seen a black bat flying off into the moonlight.


	8. Olovram

Chapter Eight

Olovram

"I hope you're proud of yourself!" James cried as he slammed the Daily Prophet down on the table next to Sirius.

"Shh!" Sirius hissed, glancing at Remus's exhausted figure on the bed.

"No, don't," Remus gasped. "I...really...want to... hear this..."

Sirius moaned as James nodded and continued his tirade. Peter was on a chair by Remus's bed, torn between fear and laughter. Even in James's eyes there was a flicker of mirth.

"Every paper in the area is reporting that Count Dracula has risen from the grave and is terrorizing London!"

Sirius shrugged. "It's a wicked picture though, isn't it?" he smirked.

James sighed and glanced down at the picture. It was indeed quite impressive: someone had apparently snapped a picture of Sirius levitating in the air with his cloak billowing about him like wings. The wind was swirling the folds as his face shone in the full moon, which was perched a good distance off of his left shoulder. It was a picture destined for history textbooks.

"It is pretty damned wicked," James conceded, failing to conceal the smile.

"How did you escape the Killing Curse?" Peter begged as he glanced in fear at the picture on the front page.

"It was easy," he lied. "I was about to Transfigure myself anyway, so it happened just in time." They all blinked stupidly at him. "What?"

"You transfigured yourself into a bat and flew away?" Peter gawked. James's and Remus's amazement seemed beyond words.

Sirius shrugged. "Yep. You know any one of you could've done it."

All three of them shook their heads. "I don't think so, Sirius," James said slowly. "I mean...you successfully transfigured yourself into a completely different species, and then had the strength to remain transformed for at least ten minutes...That's...that's bloody powerful, Sirius."

"And stupid," hissed a new voice from behind them. They all spun around to find Lily silhouetted in the doorframe. She looked ready to kill.

"And I thought the Dracula picture was impressive," Peter observed, but was silenced by Lily's look of death.

Sirius gulped. "Would it help if I said I was sorry?" he tried.

"No," Lily spat. "Why were you spying on me?" she demanded.

"I..." Sirius stammered and looked desperately to James for help.

"Oh, don't worry, Sirius," Lily said coldly. "I know you didn't orchestrate this little coup, so I won't completely punish you. What's the idea, James?"

It was James's turn to gulp and stammer. "I...er...I mean...I..."

"Spit it out," Lily snapped.

James sighed. "I was worried..."

"Worried?" Lily repeated angrily.

"Alright!" James exclaimed. "I might've been a little jealous. Well c'mon, Lily! You were out all day without even a word! What was I supposed to think?"

"You were supposed to trust me!"

"I _do_ trust you, Lily! I have never once doubted you! It's just that I don't know what this guy is like, that's all. I was worried, okay?" James slumped into a chair, trying to ignore the image of 'Dracula' next to him.

Lily sighed. "James, it's really not your business what I do with my friends. How many times do you and Sirius go out all night, only to come back too drunk to even stand? How do you think that makes me feel? Good? Well it doesn't, James. If I can't go out to eat with a friend and you and Sirius can get totally wasted on Firewhiskey, I don't think this is a fair relationship. In fact, I think you're being rather hypocritical."

"Lily, you and he were in Knockturn Alley. In the middle of a restaurant frequented by _real_ vampires. What were you thinking?"

"What was I thinking!" Lily cried. "I can go wherever I want, and I don't need your permission or approval!"

"Do you _want_ to be turned to the Dark side, Lily!" James cried, jumping up from his chair.

"What?" Lily's mouth dropped open.

"You've been too busy fooling around! Peter says the Death Eaters are trying to turn one of us over to their side! They only know the two of us, and so far I haven't been hanging around Knockturn Alley with a whole lot of vampires!"

Lily's chest was heaving as she breathed heavily in her anger. "'Fooling around'?" she repeated with breathless anger as her eyes watered. "'Fooling around'!" she shouted, tears beginning to run down her face. "Damn you, James! I just lost my parents!" she sobbed. "I just wanted to get out! You have Sirius and Remus and Peter, and they help you through everything! And you know what? That's great. It really is. But I have no one! Do you hear me? No one! And when I find one person who I can actually talk to without being treated as a fragile being about to break _you_ say I'm fooling around!"

Her breath was ragged as she sunk onto the floor. James was immediately at her side. "Get away from me!" she cried, glaring up at him from beneath her tousled red hair. "Get away from me! I don't want to see you again!" With that, she disappeared, leaving James grasping air.

"Did you see that?" he cried, jumping to his feet. "'Hypocrite' she said! She's gone mad!"

Sirius and Peter exchanged glances nervously, but Remus sighed in his bed. James whirled on him. "What now, Remus? You know I'm right, don't you?" he implored desperately.

But Remus shook his head. "_She_ is right, James," he said softly.

"Shut up, Remus!" James snapped. "Shut up! I..." he stopped and gazed down at his hands in despair. "I know she is. I've driven her away. Why didn't I see?"

Remus sighed. "Because you're a man, and men are blind."

James nodded in agreement. "Dammit. What do I do? Do I give her space or do I follow her?" It was clear by his stance that he wanted to choose the follow option.

Sirius shook his head. "Give her space, Prongs," he said.

"I've tried..." James sunk into a chair. "I've tried to be there for her this past week."

"You were there as her lover, James," Remus said sadly, "when what she needed was you to be a friend."

"God," James sighed, his voice trembling. "I wish mum and dad were still here." He wondered why his vision had suddenly blurred, despite the fact that he was wearing his glasses. When a drop of moisture fell onto his hand, he realized why.

"I know, James," Remus whispered gently. Sirius suddenly seemed very interested in a crack in the wallpaper. "I know."

Remus sat propped in his bed behind a mountain of books. On his right were those that he had read, and on his left were those he had yet to peruse. Peter came plodding in with a new stack of books which he discarded on Remus's left side. "I don't even know," he panted as he straightened up, "what you're trying to accomplish with this."

Remus closed one of the books and placed it on his right side. "I," he said as he picked up a new one from his left, "am doing some research for our friend James. Seeing as I'm the only one of us with a lot of time on his hands at the moment, I volunteered."

"To do what?" Peter reiterated.

"To find Tom Olovram."

Peter chuckled nervously. "Lily's going to kill you if she finds out."

Remus shrugged. "Then she's just not going to find out."

"I think she'll be able to figure it out if she walks in and finds about thirty Hogwarts yearbooks lying about your bed." Peter sat down and absent-mindedly opened one up. "What are you looking for, anyway?"

"Anyone with the name of 'Tom' or 'Olovram'," Remus answered. "He may have changed his name, at least that's James's guess, but we may find clues. All we need is Sirius to confirm the looks, which also may have changed."

"Well Sirius is here!" sighed a voice from the doorway. They looked up to find Sirius standing there.

"You look upset," Peter pointed out.

"I'm embarrassed, that's all," Sirius groaned and sat down. "What are you two doing?"

Peter threw a book at him. "Looking up Tom Olovram, for James. So far, we haven't had any luck."

"You seem very distant today, Lily," Tom observed as they sat at Banquo's Eatery, a little corner tea restaurant near the end of Diagon Alley.

Lily shrugged, attempting to be casual. "I..." she knew she couldn't lie very well, especially to Tom's keen gaze, and she sighed. "I got into a bit of a row with James this morning."

"Over what?" he asked, but then nodded knowingly. "It was over you and I wasn't it?"

Lily nodded dismally. "Yes. I told him how foolish he was to think there was anything between us. He doesn't seem to understand that we can be friends without falling madly in love with each other!"

Tom nodded in agreement, and Lily was too distracted by thoughts of James to notice the odd flicker which rose in his red eyes.

"Somehow I can't imagine Dumbledore 'chewing' you out, but I'll do my best," Remus laughed as Sirius had finally told them why he was embarrassed. "I'm sure it was well deserved?"

"Oh yeah," Sirius sighed heavily. "He wanted to know how we'd explain the sudden reappearance of Count Dracula."

"And what'd you say?"

"That we could pretend we hadn't read the 'Prophet'."

"Or any other paper, for that matter," Remus sighed. "Did he say anything else about the whole thing?"

"Well," Sirius shrugged. "He thanked me for finding out about Dolohov." Peter stiffened at the mention of the last name, but said nothing. "And told me that if he ever needed an envoy to Knockturn Alley he'd try to contact Count Dracula."

Remus smiled. "Doesn't exactly sound like being 'chewed out' to me," he observed.

"No, maybe not," Sirius shrugged. "Any luck?" he asked, gesturing to the yearbooks spread about Remus.

"I have a little stack there with guys named Tom...and a girl, but I wasn't sure what to do with that one," Remus added with a smile.

"I'll take a look," Sirius said, and they fell quiet as they perused the yearbooks, looking everywhere for 'Tom Olovram'.

Lily paused to look at a sale on the eagles of The Bane of Prometheus. Of course, she barely even noticed the different breeds which stared solemnly down at her from their perches. "Why did I fly off the handle like that?" she sighed mournfully to Tom, who stood by her side. "No pun intended," she added with a wry smile at the eagles.

"That," Tom said, "is the first time you've smiled all day. Why do you blame yourself?" he continued after a moment. "It is clearly James's fault for misinterpreting a friendship. Doesn't he trust you?"

"Of course he trusts me," Lily shrugged. "He just doesn't understand that the world doesn't revolve around him."

"You told me he changed from his school years," Tom said pointedly. "Apparently he hasn't changed much."

"Oh, he has," Lily shook her head. "Quite a bit, but he's still shaking off the idealism of youth, I s'ppose."

"Do not make excuses for his behavior, Lily," Tom said gravely. "I worry for you. I do not think that you should remain in this relationship."

Remus was halfway through turning a page when he froze. "That's interesting," he muttered to himself. The others looked up from their respective yearbooks. Remus glanced up when he realized they were staring at him. "Oh, it's just...look at this one." Sirius and Peter got up and positioned themselves on opposite sides of Remus, looking over his shoulder at the page in front of him. Amongst the list of names was 'Tom Marvolo Riddle'.

Peter shrugged. "So? Why do we care about some bloke named 'Tom Riddle'? We're looking for Tom Olovram."

"Look at his middle name," Remus said and spelled it out on the side of the page for them: 'M-A-R-V-O-L-O'.

"Brilliant, Moony! You can spell!" Peter laughed, but Sirius shut him up with a look. Remus began writing something beneath it, and then showed them. 'O-L-O-V-R-A-M'.

"He rearranged the letters," Remus said. "It's really quite simple, actually."

"It...it doesn't make sense, though," Sirius shook his head. "Lily's friend is young. How old is this yearbook?"

"Thirty-five years," Remus sighed. "Maybe it's his son?"

"Let's see the picture," Sirius stated. Remus flipped through and finally found the picture of Tom Riddle. He was an incredibly good looking young man, and his caption below boasted of his being a prefect and Head Boy. Sirius stared in shock at the picture. "It's him..." he breathed. "That is exactly what Lily's friend looked like!"

"Are you trying to tell me," Peter mused skeptically, "that Lily's friend Tom Olovram, is actually Tom Riddle, but looks exactly as he did about 35 years ago?"

"Yeah," Sirius said glumly. "It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, does it? But that's the guy I saw." Remus was staring curiously at the picture, who stared back at him. "What is it, Remus?" Sirius asked.

Remus shook his head. "I don't know...that name just seems incredibly familiar to me."

"Yeah," Sirius nodded. "And I can't see why he changed it. 'Olovram' is a really stupid name."

Lily shook her head. "I'm not making excuses for him, Tom. People make mistakes; that's normal. And, people misjudge. James _is_ a person, despite what he...and even I sometimes, think."

"I would never treat you like that," he said quietly as they left The Bane of Prometheus. Lily wasn't even paying attention to where she was going.

"Tom," she began, but he shook his head.

"Lily, it's time you shook off your own idealism and look at James for what he really is. No, listen to me, Lily. You've been infatuated with James since the first days of your school years."

"I have not!" Lily cried, shocked by the sudden turn of the conversation. "I hated him until seventh year-"

Tom shook his head. "You know that's not true," he said. "You said yourself that you were attracted to him. Who can blame you for that? I certainly am not. But think of it, Lily. I care deeply for you, which is why I am telling you this. You have matured since you left Hogwarts. James, obviously, has not. Isn't it time that you left your former life to fully embrace your future?"

James trudged in as the three Marauders were staring, confounded by the mystery of Tom 'Olovram'. "Hi," he sighed dismally. "Find anything?"

"Ask him!" Peter exclaimed suddenly. James looked up in confusion as Sirius shrugged, "Why not?"

"James," Remus began. "Does the name 'Tom Riddle' mean anything to you?"

James's mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. "'Tom Riddle'?" he reiterated in shock. "Yeah that name means something to me! Why?"

Sirius, Remus, and Peter exchanged confused glances. "_What_ does it mean to you?" Remus asked with a hint of impatience in his voice.

James blinked at them as if they were stupid. "'Tom Marvolo Riddle' rearranged the letters in his name to get 'I am Lord Voldemort'. Seriously, where were you three during our training for the Order - why do you look like that?" he asked suddenly as he saw the blood drain from each of their faces. Sirius looked much like the vampire he had the previous night.

"James..." Sirius gulped. "I think you should sit down."

Lily looked around and suddenly realized that, as she and Tom had been talking, she'd been backed into a dead end alleyway. "Tom..." she began. "Let me out of this alley."  
She noticed with growing anxiety the fact that Tom was blocking her exit.

"Lily," Tom said sincerely. "I knew there was something different about you the moment I first laid eyes on you. This was before we met in the shop. 'Olovram's Sanctuary' was the only way I knew we could meet without creating an awkward atmosphere which would cause your Potter to suspect something."

Lily stared at him in shock. "But...no this is impossible. Are you trying to tell me that you built your restaurant with the sole purpose of meeting me? That was foolish! How did you know I'd even stop in there? We could've gone to any restaurant that day!" she asserted, beginning to wish that Dorcas had simply left her to mourn in solitude that day.

"But you did not," Tom said matter-of-factly. "After the death of your parents, I knew that even Potter, self-possessed fool that he is, would try to 'cheer you up'. Of course he, being the coward that he is, would never think to help you himself. I knew he would send 'missionaries' from your past to comfort you in your hour of need. At each door of your school friends' homes, I arranged a pamphlet praising the restaurant as a place of peace and comfort. Foolish girls, of course, to fall to such easy prey, but they _were _educated by Albus Dumbledore."

"As was I!" Lily cried and Disapparated...but she hadn't moved. She remained in the alleyway with Tom looking down on her with a mixture of pity and amusement on his perfectly etched features.

"There is no use trying," Tom said, and Lily thought that he appeared suddenly taller than he had ever before. "I have had this area sealed against Disapparation for some time now."

Lily gaped at him with fear and anger. "Who are you?" she spat, "Because you are certainly not the friend I thought you were."

"You silly girl." he smiled. "I am Lord Voldemort."


	9. The First Defiance

Chapter 9  
The First Defiance

The chill of the brick wall ran up her spine. Lily had backed away from Tom as far as she could manage, and pressed herself as close as possible to the wall of the alley, as if she would disappear into some unknown recess.

"There is nowhere you can run," Tom said simply, but his voice was already changing along with his appearance.

Voldemort. The man she had come to trust as a friend was the Dark Lord she'd been fighting against since she was seventeen. The man she had come to trust had killed her parents.

"You," she spat, her voice involuntarily trembling, as was the rest of her body. "You killed my parents! You killed James's parents!"

Tom- Voldemort, for he looked nothing like the man she had known, sneered. His skin was an odd hue - not unnatural, but almost…_sickly_. He seemed taller, though Lily could never pinpoint when exactly he'd grown in size. His fingers had slightly elongated and his rich, black hair had faded, almost seeming to have returned to their roots, leaving a bald scalp. Along with the sudden changes in physical appearance, his entire demeanor had altered. He carried himself with such pride and sophistication that, had it not been for the eyes, Lily would never have guessed he was the same person as Tom Olovram. The eyes - those spectacular red eyes, remained the exact same. They burned with the same fierce emotion they had always held. Despite the drastic physical changes Tom had undergone, Lily would have recognized him anywhere from those eyes.

"My dear, silly little child," he said coldly, and the change in his voice staggered her breath. Where it had been warm, almost seductive, in the days she had known him, it was now cold and calculating, with the air of arrogance and wisdom which radiated from his body. "_I_ did not kill your parents, or even Potter's parents. I allow my Death Eaters to perform such mundane tasks. I rarely eliminate a problem when I can just as easily allow some lesser being to do it for me. It is simply a matter of superiority, you understand. Now do not blink at me so!" Voldemort laughed cruelly, the very sound of it cutting into Lily's heart like a knife. "Even your Dumbledore Voldemort almost spat the name does not himself set out to do his own work. Instead, he delegates the tasks to lesser beings. For example, when he sent your Potter to…_observe_ the meeting which took place after the union between Malfoy and his bride. Oh, girl, you did not seriously think that he had passed through unnoticed? How do you think I knew to attack his house and yours? If you wish to blame anyone for the deaths of your parents. Blame Potter, or Dumbledore, whomever you choose. Had it not been for their foolishness we would not have known of your involvement until a much later date, I can assure you. Potter's obvious alliance with Dumbledore only insured your alliance, as we knew, of course, that the two of you were set to make your own union."

Lily reminded her mouth to shut. Why was Voldemort, the Dark Lord and staunch enemy of all that she believed, confiding his inner workings to her? The information that he was providing her with could easily be used against him. Simply by figuring out how he managed to fathom the workings of the Order would contribute immensely in the Order's fight against him. They could, possibly, predict his movements, or at the least, some of his plans.

"If I blame anyone," she said harshly, "it will most certainly be you for deceiving me in this way…" and suddenly it dawned on her. The cold reality of all that had taken place at last hit her. _"Peter says the Death Eaters are trying to turn one of us over to their side! _"This is why you killed my parents…" she whispered in shock. "You killed my parents…you invented the restaurant…to turn me. Why didn't I listen to James…?"

Voldemort's brow furrowed, for once looking puzzled. "How did Potter know…?"

Lily straightened up, standing as tall as her 61 inches would allow. "James Potter knows far more than you think," she boasted proudly. "He is everywhere."

"We will see about this," Voldemort hissed, having already apparently put the matter behind him. "James Potter is not here to save you, Lily, and you will come with me."

"Ah, but _that_ is where you are mistaken," called a voice from the darkness.

Voldemort's mouth twisted into a grin. "Impeccable timing, Potter, though I believe you must have been waiting there for the opportune moment."

Voldemort turned, and Lily was afforded a look past him. A dark silhouette stood resolute in the opening of the alleyway. Lily couldn't help but smile. The silhouette, though allowing for no distinct features, clearly had incredibly untidy hair. It shrugged. "I needed a bit of background information before I confronted you," James said evenly, though Lily thought she could hear a slight hint of fear in his voice. 

"'Before you confronted me?'" Voldemort repeated with a laugh. "You truly believe that you are capable of dueling equally with me?"

"No," James answered honestly. "I know I can't hope to fight you and win. But Lily and I can hope to fight you and at least hold out for a while." James glanced over Voldemort's shoulder at Lily, and nodded briefly at her.

"I do not feel the need to hurt Miss Evans," Voldemort said evenly. "You, of course, I would find absolute pleasure in putting an end to your incessant meddling."

"If you put an end to James," Lily said boldly, "I fear that you will have to put an end to me first."

Voldemort nodded. "I feared it would be such," he said indifferently. "But I shall take Potter first, and leave the decision to you whether you still wish to die."

James reached slowly for his wand, his eyes boring into the burning red coals on Voldemort's face. This was Dumbledore's equal. This was the second most powerful wizard James had ever heard of. How could he, James, even wish to fight such a one as Voldemort? James sighed to himself. _I don't wish to fight him...but I will nonetheless. _James raised his wand above his face.

Voldemort smirked. "I see you know how to duel, Potter. Excellent. It would be a pity to simply kill you with no ceremony." Voldemort lifted his own wand, and the two bowed to each other, each sets of eyes staring fixedly at the other. "Prepare to meet death, Potter."

"I'm ready when you are," James spat.

"_AVADA KEDAVRA!_"

"_PROTEGO!_"

James ducked and sent the green jet of light hurling into a building behind him, causing the hard brick to shatter onto the ground below. Voldemort and James met in the center of the alley, their wands flashing like swords, furiously going back and forth in a desperate fight for life. Voldemort pressed in on James, sending him close to the streets of Diagon Alley. James always managed to maintain the fight in the alleyway alone, to minimalize casualties, but that alone was tiring. At such close proximity, James saw that Voldemort hadn't even broken a sweat. A permanent smirk was affixed to the Dark Lord's face as he effortlessly battled James's own feeble attempts at spells. Voldemort wasn't even trying. James was no match for this wizard, and they both knew it.

"Why do you insist on fighting, Potter?" Voldemort mocked as he backed James into a corner. He pinned James's arms across his chest, his wand pointing impotently into the air. Voldemort's pale, reptilian face was only inches from James's. "You are simply prolonging the inevitable."

James pushed Voldemort from him with the force of his arms. Not expecting an attack without magic, Voldemort stumbled back a few paces. "_REDUCTO!_" James cried. Voldemort simply raised his hands and the spell fell dead in midair. Again, James shot a spell at him, but it too simply died. As the Dark Lord looked up at James, the latter noticed that the mockery was gone and replaced by a deadly anger. James felt his stomach give a lurch of fear.

"No more, Tom!" Lily cried suddenly. She was immediately at James's side with her own wand raised.

"Out of the way, girl, or I shall be forced to kill you," Voldemort growled.

"_I_ am prepared for death," she said resolutely. "Fight me."

"Very well," Voldemort said and renewed his previous attack. James stood back a moment, regaining his ragged breath, as Lily and Voldemort fought furiously. Voldemort's smirk was gone, but the anger in his eyes had also ebbed. James couldn't imagine why.

"It is not too late to stop, Lily," Voldemort said quietly, out of James's earshot, as a jet of blue light passed his head. He barely noticed it.

"It is not too late for _you_, Tom," Lily affirmed and ducked to avoid a sudden red light. She was up in seconds, renewing the attack. "Come with us to Dumbledore. End this foolish war!"

"Oh, my dear," Voldemort spat, "I cannot end this war until the world is in my hand!"

Lily cried out as a spell grazed her shoulder, ripping the material and sending small flecks of blood onto her face. James was suddenly beside her, and the two of them continued their attack against Voldemort. Even together, they were no match for him. He continued, however, to avoid fighting to his highest potential. Back and forth between the three of them they fought, but the only real injuries sustained were minor infractions on James's and Lily's skin. Though it irritated them, they knew that Voldemort was capable of completely annihilating both of them in a matter of seconds. Why was he holding back?

"_SERPENSORTIA!_" Voldemort ordered, and an incredibly large snake flew from the end of his wand, landing on James. James stumbled back, lost his footing, and fell to the ground, the snake still on him.

"_IMPEDIMENTA!_" Lily cried as Voldemort lowered his wand from James. In the split second he'd been concentrating on James, Lily hit him dead on and sent him staggering into a wall. Voldemort seemed to grow as he regained his footing, and the air around them suddenly seemed darker and heavier. James continued to struggle with the snake as Lily braced herself to meet Voldemort's onslaught. Voldemort bore down on Lily, his power increasing tenfold. She was thrown onto the ground by the sudden force behind his attack, and before she knew it she was up again, only to be thrown back to the ground. She knew it was the levitation charm, but Voldemort wasn't uttering a word. He simply continued to lift her off of the ground and send her crashing back down. She blinked away the blackness that was floating in and out of her vision when she felt herself again lifting up. She prepared to be dropped and closed her eyes. When she remained in the air, she slowly opened an eye and found herself eye level with Voldemort, a foot off of the ground. Voldemort smirked at her helplessness as she struggled vainly to free herself from the spell.

"_REDUCTO!_" James shouted suddenly, and Voldemort flew against a wall leaving Lily to crash onto the hard ground. James jumped to his feet, leaving behind the snake which he had slashed to pieces with his wand. 

"_STUPEFY!_" Lily cried quickly as James ran to her and helped her to her feet. They looked hopefully to see the effect of her spell on Voldemort, but the Dark Lord simply brushed it off as a nuisance. He stood straight, towering over both of them. In desperation, James sent a bonding charm at Voldemort, rapping him in thin, sharp cords. These immediately turned into several small snakes which slid off of the Dark Lord and slithered toward Lily and James. 

James stared at the snakes for a moment, and opened his mouth to utter another spell. "_Silencio!_" Voldemort suddenly ordered. James fell dumb before him, and Voldemort sent him flying back into a brick wall. Before Lily could react, thin, snakelike cords shot from the end of Voldemort's wand, wrapping tightly around her. She lost her balance and fell to the ground, her head reeling from the constant falls. "There is no escape," Voldemort snickered as he watched Lily struggle against her bonds. He turned to James then, who was barely conscious, and raised his wand. "Goodbye, Potter," Voldemort smirked.

While his back was turned, Lily performed a severing charm and pulled the cords from her body. She rolled around to face Voldemort and sent a Blasting Curse directly at him as he opened his mouth to say, "_Avada..._" Voldemort lost his footing momentarily, but quickly put out a hand and steadied himself on the wall where James was slumped. "You simply persist, don't you?" he said menacingly to Lily and raised his wand.

"_EXPELLIARMUS!_" James cried with his last ounce of strength, and Voldemort's wand flew from his hand into James's.

"That was not," Voldemort laughed quietly, "very intelligent." He held out his hand, and suddenly a small ball of fire appeared within them. It continued to grow as Voldemort walked over to James. Lily ran to overtake him, but Voldemort threw his other hand out in her direction, and the air seemed to shift. As if hit by a blow, Lily fell backwards. "You were unwise to challenge me," Voldemort said to James as the fire in his hand slowly grew to engulf it. It seemed to be crawling slowly up his arm as it gained power. "Did you not learn wandless magic at your school?" Voldemort mocked.

"Not like that," James admitted, too stupefied to remain silent. He rubbed his throat, shocked that the Silencing Charm had worn off. 

Voldemort laughed amusedly at James's weakness. "Well, then," he said, "allow me to instruct you." He raised his burning arm. The fire leapt from his hand and flew like a bolt of lightning at James, who braced himself for the burns.

They never came. The fire was suddenly extinguished. Voldemort's red eyes narrowed and he turned, allowing James to see past him. It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Silhouetted in the entrance to the alleyway were a dozen figures. The foremost, who also happened to be the tallest, had his wand raised in front of him.

"Imagine what a simple Extinguishing Charm can do against the Dark Lord of the Wizarding world," mocked the figure, but James knew better and saw past the arrogance. The voice, which belonged to none other than Sirius Black, carried none of the confidence he usually had. Though he was resolute, he was terrified, as were all of the people behind him. However, James was satisfied by the fact that Voldemort was now greatly outnumbered. Voldemort seemed to realize this as well, though there was no fear evident on his face.

He turned to look back at Lily, who hadn't moved from her place on the ground. "Until we meet again then, Miss Evans," he said with curt smoothness, and disappeared in a wall of green flame. Sirius and the others rushed forward to James and Lily immediately following the Dark Lord's departure.

"James!" Sirius cried and dropped to his knees beside him, slowly lifting him from the ground. "James! Can you hear me?"

"Stop shouting, please," James mumbled hoarsely. "What took you so long?" he demanded.

"Do you think it's easy to get together a group large enough to take on Voldemort when Dumbledore can't come?" Sirius laughed, though there was little mirth in his eyes as he examined James's numerous wounds.

"Where's Lily?" James asked suddenly as Lily's voice carried across the alleyway, asking, "Where's James?"

Mad-Eye Moody, who had accompanied Sirius, raised her to her feet and helped her to James's side. He placed her gently on the ground beside James. They immediately embraced, holding each other as if they'd never let go.

Sirius stood and moved to Moody's side. "Any idea _why_ Voldemort decided to attack in the middle of Diagon Alley?" he asked as a small crowd began to form in the entrance way to the alley.

"Do I look like I can fathom the mind of a Dark Lord?" Moody scowled in return. "Just be glad Potter and Evans survived this. They were losing."

"How can you tell?"

"Do you remember how Voldemort looked?" Moody asked. "Not a scratch on him. Look at these two. He was going easy on them."

Sirius raised his eyebrow. "Why?"

"I don't know!" Moody exclaimed. "Honestly, Black, you are dense sometimes!"

Sirius rolled his eyes and walked with a few other Order members to calm the crowds. James and Lily continued to hold each other tightly. James was barely aware that Lily had started crying on his shoulder, and he was even less aware of the fact that he, too, was crying.

Peter was standing off in a corner. Sirius brushed past him on his way to the crowd, and no one else seemed to notice him, but Peter didn't care. He was staring wide-eyed at the spot where Voldemort had disappeared in green flame. He had witnessed so much power in one person that he had never before seen, not even from Dumbledore. _Such power..._ Peter couldn't control the small smile which spread across his face. _Such magnificent power..._


	10. When Hell Is Empty

Chapter 10  
When Hell is Empty

_"Half the Slytherins left again," James growled from his place at the Gryffindor table. _

Sirius looked up from his plate. "Figures," he said.

"Why do you say that?" Peter asked with interest, though he didn't abandon his food.

Sirius shrugged meaningfully. "I mean, we've been back at school for what- three weeks now? Every lunchtime they get up and leave. Don't you know why?"

James and Peter shook their heads earnestly. Remus glanced over at the Slytherin table. "You-Know-Who," he sighed. Peter's mouth dropped open. "I bet he's recruiting Slytherins to his cause. Why not?" he asked dismally as he turned back to the Marauders. "He's getting people fresh out of school so he can corrupt them before the world gets to them. It's quite intelligent, actually."

James looked back at the Slytherin table. "I see Snivelly's gone with them."

Sirius laughed. "Of course he did. That greasy git. He'd love to wear their black robes because the hood would hide his oily face." 

"Why," Peter began, "doesn't Dumbledore stop it?"

They fell silent for a moment. "I suppose," Remus sighed, "he wants to them to make their choices, just like he wants all of us to. He doesn't want to brainwash anyone onto his side. He wants to give choices."

Sirius stood from his seat. "As much as I'd love to sit here and speculate about Snivelly with you, I have Meliflua's detention to get to." He made a gagging motion with his mouth and slung his bag over his shoulder. 

James woke to a soft morning light coming through a window above him. The walls of Ward Four in St. Mungo's were painted a soft white, as was everything around him - the bed sheets, the curtains, and the floor. Even the hospital robes James was wearing were white. He felt as if he were in another world of soft light and comfort. James glanced over to his left and saw Lily lying in another white bed. Her fair skin barely stood out from the sheets, and the only stark contrast to the soft glow was her red hair, which itself was glowing slightly. James smiled and closed his eyes, convinced that he was in heaven.

"James!" barked a voice suddenly. James opened his eyes and saw, in stark contrast to the whiteness of the room, Sirius Black, dressed head to foot in almost completely black clothes. Sirius strode quickly to James's side. The surreal atmosphere was immediately broken. "Prongs!" Sirius continued in the same loud voice. "Welcome back to life! I am your guide, Mr. Padfoot, and I will be reintroducing you to the world. Any questions?"

"I have one, Mr. Padfoot," said a slightly hoarse voice from the doorway. James smiled as he recognized Remus leaning with crossed arms inside the doorway.

"You're not allowed to ask questions, sir. Only the patients."

"I was a patient here once," Remus rebutted pointedly.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "You ruin everything."

"No, I believe _you_ ruin everything, Padfoot."

"I can vouch for that!" James laughed.

Sirius looked affronted. "You take his side? I thought we were friends!" Sirius said dramatically, looking as if he were holding back tears.

"Is Peter here?" James asked. "And keep it down," he added. "Lily's trying to sleep."

"Not really, James," Lily called from her bed without opening her eyes. "I'm simply resting."

"Oh...good morning, Lil."

"Good morning, James."

"Good morning, Remus!"

"Good morning, Sirius!"

"Good morning, all," a new voice suddenly entered. Albus Dumbledore was standing suddenly beside Remus in the doorway. Judging by the expression on Remus's face, the latter hadn't known Dumbledore was there.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Lily said happily.

"Hello, Lily," Dumbledore said, smiling warmly at her. "I trust you are feeling better?"

"Yes, sir," she nodded. "I'm feeling much better though..." Lily hung her head. "Though I'm ashamed of myself. Sir, I don't know what came over me. I just..."

Dumbledore smiled. "Lily, no one faults you for what happened. Voldemort has a strange affect on people. Without them knowing, he can manipulate people to his will. You are in no way worthy of blame."

Lily smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you, sir," she said quietly.

"And you, James?"

"Never better, sir!"

"Excellent," Dumbledore said, surveying the scene before him. "Excellent. I wanted to tell you-"

"I brought tea from the fifth floor!" Peter announced cheerfully, and he suddenly became visible. He held a tray of five steaming cups of tea. "Oh...Professor Dumbledore," he blinked. "I'm sorry. I didn't know...would you like me to get you a cup?"

Dumbledore shook his head and stepped aside, allowing Peter to sneak in. Remus remained where he was. "I wanted to tell you both how…how very proud I am of you. You faced Voldemort and lived. I commend your work and dedication." Dumbledore turned abruptly on his heel and almost left, but stopped in mid-stride. "Ah. I also wish to tell you that I am allowing both of you to take leave of work until after your honeymoon." With that, Dumbledore walked out. On his way out, however, his hand slightly brushed Remus's shoulder. Remus waited a few moments while the others soaked in Dumbledore's words ("HONEYMOON! YES!"), and quietly crept out of the hospital room. Dumbledore was waiting for him at the end of the corridor.

Dumbledore smiled as Remus approached. "I always know that I can count on you, Remus."

"What did you need me for, sir?"

Dumbledore glanced back at the room, where the sounds of rejoicing echoed down the hall. "Come with me," he said quietly and led Remus to the visitors' room; a small, secluded space out of earshot of the hospital rooms. "Remus," he began. "We've analyzed the ground where they fought, and listened to what both James and Lily and the witnesses saw. Voldemort was barely fighting them."

"_Barely_ fighting them, sir?" Remus blinked. "Sir..." He paused, trying to figure out how best to say it. "Sir, did you see the extent of their injuries? There's hardly a part of their bodies unblemished."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, you are correct, Remus. But those injuries were simply minor lacerations. Think of it Remus. Voldemort could have easily destroyed both of them had he so wished. Why do you think that he refrained from using his full power?"

Remus found that he had no words. Why _had_ Voldemort gone easy on Lily and James?

"Have you no speculations on it?" Dumbledore asked, but Remus saw by the glowing in the light blue eyes that Dumbledore had his own speculations.

"And you, sir?" 

"I would like to hear what you are thinking first, Remus."

"Alright..." Remus hunched over, resting his elbows on his knees as his mind raced through the events of the previous days. Lily and James's parents had been murdered by Voldemort, signifying that the Death Eaters knew that they were in the Order. Peter had begun spying on the Death Eaters at Grendel's. Peter had said that the Death Eaters were trying to turn one of them to their side. "Lily!" Remus gasped. "Voldemort was trying to turn Lily! But...but why James? Was he using Lily to get to James? Or was he just trying to get either one of them?"

"He was trying to turn Lily, Remus," Dumbledore said, hiding the pride in his eyes. "Odd, isn't it? James seems the more likely choice. Remus shook his head slowly. "No...no I can't think why..." Remus shrugged. "I'm sorry, sir. I don't know." 

"I tell you this, Remus, because I trust you," Dumbledore said. "I must confess that I did not wish to send any other Order members to aid Lily and James. Do not misunderstand me; when Sirius told me of the true identity of Tom I wanted to help them. I would have gone myself, but I could not risk engaging Voldemort in an 'all-out duel' in the midst of Diagon Alley. Sirius, as you know, was perfectly willing to go - though I do not believe he fully understood the danger of it. You are now one of the only Order members unknown to the Death Eaters. Remus, there is a task you must perform, but I fear it will put you in great danger. Are you willing?"

"Sir," Remus said, turning to look Dumbledore in the eyes. "I have come to you countless times in the past asking for help and you have never let me down. I swear that, whatever it is you want me to do, it will be done."

London never looked more beautiful. James had insisted that they take the Underground instead of disapparating. Having had such a close brush with death, James realized how lucky he was to even be alive. He walked up and down the rainy streets of London with a huge smile on his face and Lily on his arm (she, too, was overwhelmed with joy over being alive). Sirius was very patient with them. He humored them when they wished to run in and out of puddles. He humored them when they ran through the rain, singing at the top of their lungs. He finally drew the line, however, when they began to take off their shoes to run through the mud and grass. He gently "escorted" them to the underground (where many people stared at their wetness), and returned them to their flats.

"I can't wait for the honeymoon," Sirius muttered to Peter as Lily and James dried themselves with a charm.

"Why?" Peter blinked. "You're not…you're not going with them, are you?"

"No!" Sirius hissed. "Sick minded rat," he growled, smacking Peter on the back of the head. "I just can't wait because they'll be off for a week and it might be calm and peaceful."

Peter smiled. "Do you really believe it will ever be calm and peaceful?"

Sirius shrugged. "It's doubtful, but don't destroy my dream."

Suddenly James was behind them. "Did someone say….._honeymoon_!"

Two days before the wedding, things began to grow frantic…well, more frantic than before, at least. Along with the usual stress and anxiety that accompanied weddings, Remus had just announced that he was looking for a place of his own.

"It'll be isolated," he explained, "and that way I can live in peace without having to be shut in a storm cellar every month."

His logic was incontestable, and the others paid little heed to this change in light of the events surrounding the wedding. On top of that, however, was the ever-present threat of Voldemort and the evil that was already growing rapidly in the Wizarding World. Sirius and Peter were brought harshly back to reality two days before Lily and James were married.

Sirius, who was, of course, going to be the best man, was busy fixing up the reception area with Peter when Dumbledore strode in, with Remus at his heels. Sirius opened his mouth to make a joke, but the laughter died as he saw Dumbledore's and Remus's faces.

"Oh not now…" he sighed. "Why can't the bad guys wait until _after_ the wedding to ruin our lives?"

"Unfortunately, Sirius, the event I am about to inform you of happened almost a week ago," Dumbledore said gravely. "You will remember, I am sure, your escapade as Dracula in Knockturn Alley?"

"Who could forget it?" Peter laughed, but Sirius remained skeptical.

"Sirius…" Remus said quietly. "You remember, also, that Malfoy tried to hit you with Avada Kedavra?" Sirius nodded. "And it hit someone else…?"

"Get to the point, Remus," Sirius said dangerously.

Remus glanced at Dumbledore, who nodded. "Sirius," Dumbledore began. "The person who was killed was Bethany Dolohov. You may remember her from school."

Sirius sunk into a chair that was, luckily, behind him. Peter stood frozen in place with his mouth open.

"Why…?" Sirius muttered.

"She was going to see her brother. You saw Antonin Dolohov there that night. Apparently, Bethany has remained in the service of the Death Eaters, despite the fact that she didn't remember working with them in the first place. She was, I am very sorry to say, easily manipulated by her brother."

Sirius sat back in the chair, staring bewildered at the ground in front of him. Remus, however, was watching Peter with unguarded pity. He had yet to move, save to mouth one word: "Bethany..."

"Peter…" Remus said quietly.

Peter didn't move. He didn't seem to notice the others.

"Peter," Sirius said unevenly. "Peter, I'm so sorry-"

Peter shook his head and walked quickly past them. Remus turned and watched him storm out of the room. He barely avoided James as he walked in. James watched him leave, and then hurried over to the group. "What's wrong with him?" he asked.

Sirius shook his head, trying his best to appear casual. "Nothing, James. I have some questions to ask you about the…er…the table settings."

James shrugged and walked with him to look at them. Remus and Dumbledore glanced at each other. "It's best not to bother James this close to the wedding," Remus sighed.

Dumbledore nodded. "Let's hope nothing else happens before then."

"Is there a chance something will, sir?" Remus asked uneasily, searching Dumbledore's face for any sign.

"Who can say," Dumbledore sighed, "'when hell is empty and all the devils are here'?"

Remus blinked at him. "Sir...?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "Don't think on it, Remus. I'm sure the next days will be wonderful. Enjoy them."

Dumbledore glanced one last time at James and Sirius, and Remus found it impossible to fathom the headmaster's mind. Dumbledore turned and, signaling for Remus to stay, walked from the room.


	11. Prongs

Chapter 11  
Prongs

The early morning light shone through the paned window glass as he put the final touches on his dress robe. The full length mirror in front of him showed his perfectly cleaned figure. He took a deep breath as he studied himself in the mirror. He had been waiting for this day for what seemed like an eternity. He knew he was ready, but he couldn't stop the nervousness which had begun to make his palms sweat. He ran a hand through his hair absent mindedly. "Here we go," he smiled to himself nervously, and pocketed his wand.

"James Potter!" Sirius called from the living room. "You'd better be ready, because I'll feel like a total git if I show up by myself!"

James rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm ready, and I can't remember when this turned into the Sirius Black show."

"_Everything_ is the Sirius Black show, Prongs. Where have you been?"

James walked out into the living room, trying to avoid all walls and objects. Sirius laughed as he walked in. "What? Are you afraid the walls will grab you?"

"No," James said, brushing off his dress robes again. "I'm trying to avoid lint."

"Oh shut up and quit worrying. Nobody will be looking at you anyway," Sirius laughed and walked over to him.

"It's kind of hard to feel good about yourself when your best man looks like a model in Witch Weekly," James growled.

_"You proposed then, eh?" Sirius laughed, trying to feign surprise. "I never saw it coming."_

"Shut up," James grunted, but he was smiling. He'd been smiling since he returned from Hogsmeade.

"When's the date?" Sirius pushed, sliding down on the couch next to his best friend.

"Not until after we finish training," James said matter-of-factly.

Sirius's jaw dropped. "After_ we finish training?!" he gasped. "Are you two insane?"_

James grinned. "Maybe. I think I've turned Lily to the dark side."  


_  
"Oh great," Sirius laughed. "I'll have two dark wizards to manage, and some dark children. How many are you thinking of having, Lord James?" Sirius said mischievously, elbowing James in the side._

"I don't know," James shrugged. "Maybe five."

"Five!" Sirius cried. "Poor Lily. The two of you will be incredibly busy then," he added with a wink.

James turned bright red. "Well...however many Lily wants. I don't mind."

"Because either way you'll be busy."

"Shut up!" James snapped. "That's not why I'm marrying her, you know. I don't even care about that." Sirius laughed. "Ok," James sighed, unable to hide his smile. "So I do kind of care about that. But still."

"Are you trying to tell me that you two -for all the time she spends here and you spend at her place- have never taken it a step further than just snogging?"

James stared at his hands. "I won't deny that I've wanted to," he said quietly. "But no, Sirius. We never have."

"But what about now that you're engaged?"

James shook his head. "We're waiting."

Sirius sat back and they sat together for a moment in silence. "What's it like?" Sirius asked at length.

"What's 'what' like?" James, puzzled, asked.

"Finding that one person you love so much you'd die for?"

"I'm not dying for her, Sirius," James laughed. "I'm just not knocking her up!"

"No, really you are," Sirius continued, determined not to be shut out. "Think of it: you're dying to yourself by denying yourself...her...it's kind of cool."

James looked over at him. "'What's it like?'" he reiterated. "Well...I guess...it's really kind of nice. I love her so much, and I want to give her all of me to prove it - and I want all of her to prove her love, in a way - but because of that...I know she'll never leave me, and I know it'll be better on our wedding night. I don't know. It just seems...right, somehow."

"I envy you," Sirius said after a moment.  


_  
"What?" James laughed. "_You_ envy _me_? You, who've had so many girls before?"_

"Yeah," Sirius spat in disgust. "So many girls that I barely even knew. It's just...I wish I could have someone like Lily - not Lily, though! Keep your robes on! I wish I could love someone that much."

"Maybe you will, Sirius," James said. "You have time. I'm sure there's a girl out there waiting for you to shape up and find her. And you know what? When you do find her, she's going to be damn lucky to get a guy like you."

"She's going to hate me for what I've done..."

"She'll get over it," James pushed. "You're too good of a guy to throw away because you've made some poor choices. Don't worry about it."

"Thanks, James," Sirius muttered awkwardly.

"Don't thank me," James shrugged. "It was the truth." They sat again in silence, until James cleared his throat. "Hey, Sirius?"

"Yeah, James?"

"I'd really like it if you were my best man."

Sirius looked at him for a moment, and then nodded. "I'd be honored to, James." 

"It's not my fault," Sirius shrugged innocently. "Let's just hope Lily looks pretty enough to take the attention off of me," he winked.

"Lily..." James sighed.

"What?" Sirius joked. "You haven't forgotten about her, have you? She's kinda the woman you're marrying today."

"Shut up, Sirius, you're driving me mad."

"Madder than you were before?" he asked innocently as he handed James his wand.

The sun was shining for a change as the guests slowly apparated onto the hill where the wedding was to take place. August 31 brought immaculate green to the grass, and the river just beyond the hill 

glimmered in the early afternoon sun. There were clouds, of course, but they were scarce enough to allow for a steady stream of yellow rays. James was fiddling with his wand as he waited impatiently for all the guests to arrive. He would greet them cordially, but now and again he would glance off to the side, trying for a desperate glance at Lily. He hadn't seen her since last night, and he was beginning to wonder if it had all been some wild dream of his. When he had confided that to Sirius, the other had nodded gravely and agreed with him. Remus quickly saved the battered groom from more panic by "gently" ushering Sirius to a table full of old women. James and the others followed, for lack of anything better to do.

Sirius maneuvered himself away at the last moment and led the Marauders to the refreshment table.

"Would you look at that," Sirius said slyly as lifted a piece of broccoli onto his plate. "The refreshment table is right near where you tried to exile me, Remus."

Remus rolled his eyes. "I suppose you're punishment must be reduced, then."

"Reduced?" Peter said while taking a rather large piece of bread.

"Save some for the commoners, Wormtail!" Sirius laughed.

Peter ignored him. "I would think Sirius' punishment is still bad."

"Why's that?" James asked, eyeing the food with hunger, but restraining because of the inevitable kiss at the end of the marriage ceremony.

"Because we're all losing our leader."

"What?" all three of the others asked, abandoning their food (or their staring at food), to look at Peter.

"Well, James is getting married," Peter shrugged. "Doesn't that make you less of a Marauder?"

They all blinked at him. "No!" James cried. A few of the old witches turned to look at them. Remus nodded at them, and they returned to their gossip. "Peter, what are you talking about? I'll always be a Marauder!"

"But you can't be, since we've always checked out girls together and stuff-"

"No we haven't," Sirius sighed. "The three of us did, but James was always checking out Lily. Well, now it's official. End of story. James is still a Marauder. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Remus nodded, and Peter shrugged.

James looked at each of them. "I'm not leaving you guys. You three gits are still the best three gits in the world to me. You know that. I hope this doesn't change anything."

"It's going to change things, James," Remus said. "But for the better. You have Lily, and you'll always have each of us. You're just expanding. And when you are old and ugly - Lily will probably always be beautiful- we'll be old and ugly with you. So don't worry about it. Peter's just sentimental. You know what weddings do to him," he winked.

"Thanks, Remus."

An echoey sort of music began from nowhere in particular. James suddenly found his throat dry. He glanced at each of them, and they nodded encouragingly. James returned to his spot at the end of the aisle as Remus and Peter took their seats and the presider gestured for him to walk forward. Sirius rushed over from the refreshment table to give him a little push. "See you on the other side, Mr. Potter," Sirius smiled.

"Padfoot," James swallowed. "Do me a favor."

"What?"

"Call me Prongs. Just once."

Sirius smiled. "Give 'em hell, Prongs."

James slowly began to put one foot in front of the other, and eventually began making progress down the aisle. The air rustled his already tragic hair as he reached an upraised platform, on which stood the presider (an official of the Department of Domestic Affairs). James turned and waited anxiously for Lily...very anxiously. Was she coming? He'd already been standing there alone for at least ten seconds! Was she going to abandon him? Had she decided to live life alone- or worse! be with another man?!

The music began to pick up, and James was suddenly very grateful for his glasses. At the end of the aisle, standing next to Sirius, stood Lily. All people in the seats rose and turned, but James's eyes were already glued to the one thing in this world that he loved more than life. Lily was dressed in an elaborate medieval style white dress, with her dark red hair tied up and a bouquet of deep green flowers in her hand. Sirius stepped out and held out his arm. She turned to him and smiled nervously.

"You know," Sirius muttered as they joined arms. "James had that exact look on his face before he walked down. What is it with weddings? People look forward to them so much, but then they become terrified when they're about to do it!"

"It's because I don't want to mess up!" Lily hissed through clenched teeth as they began walking to James.  


"The only way you'll mess up is if you forget to say 'I do.' Then you're kind of screwed. Or if you trip, but that'll only happen after you let go of me."

"Oh, thanks, Sirius, I feel much better now," she growled as they reached where James was waiting for them.

"Just doing my job," Sirius chuckled and squeezed her arm reassuringly before letting go. He winked at James and then took his place behind him.

"Are we ready?" the presider asked in a curt tone, obviously thinking of his plans for the rest of the day.

"If you mess this up in any way..." Sirius growled. "Just 'cause you're in a hurry...I _swear_ on anything I hold dear, you will never live to get to your business."

"Ahem," Remus coughed in the first row, and Sirius backed off (though he continued to stare darts at the man).

"Right then!" the presider swallowed. "_Sonorus!_ My fellow witches and wizards, we are gathered here today to honor the union of Mr. James Potter to Miss Lily Evans. You have watched them grow in their love for one another, and have waited eagerly for this most joyous of days. Please look at each other and repeat after me:

"I vow to love you."

"I vow to love you."

"I vow to cherish you."

"I vow to cherish you."

"I vow to honor you."

"I vow to honor you."

"All the days of my natural life."

"All the days of my natural life."

"Do you, James Potter, vow this to Lily Evans?"

James swallowed. "I do."  


"Hold your hand to your heart, and place it over hers." James obeyed. "Do you, Lily Evans, vow this to James Potter?"

"I do," she answered quietly.

"Hold your hand to your heart, and place it over his." Lily obeyed, and both now had their arms entwined with each hand over the other's heart.

"Does anyone here," the presider continued, "know of any reason why this wizard and this witch should not be joined in this most sacred union? If so, speak now, or forever hold your peace." While it was an open question, and any could have answered, none dared, for Sirius was shooting daggers from his eyes at every member of the crowd. "In that case," the presider said, "join hands."

James and Lily took the hands they'd been holding over each other's hearts and interlocked their fingers, almost at eye level. They looked at each other then; James into Lily's emerald eyes, and Lily in James' hazel eyes. He smiled at her, a small smile, but still potent. Her eyes brimmed with tears, and James tried not to notice that his own were stinging. "Let this union," the presider said, "never be broken by any man, woman, spell, beast, or magical entity." Sirius raised his eyebrow but said nothing.

"On behalf of the Department of Domestic Affairs, I pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. James Potter. You may kiss the bride."

James smiled and Lily flung her arms around his neck. As they kissed, tears flowed from their eyes. The guests were on their feet applauding them, and not only the couple was crying: Professor McGonagall was in tears on Dumbledore's shoulder, and he patted her back consolingly. Peter, too, wiped a tear from his eyes, and all of Lily's friends from Hogwarts were sobbing into their handkerchiefs (which they had conveniently conjured seconds before the kiss). Many others were in tears as well, for James and Lily had made quite a few friends in their time (not to mention enemies, but that is for another time).

Arm-in-arm, James and Lily made their way down the aisle to a reception tent which had been painstakingly prepared for them by none other than the remaining Marauders. Though the tent was outdoors, once they were inside it suddenly seemed as if they were in a grand dining room in some ancient palace. A large round table was in the center of the room, and no matter the mount of guests, there seemed to be ample room at this table for all. James took his seat, and was amazed to find an ancient carving of a word in front of him. He'd studied enough of Ancient Runes to understand what it meant: Arthur. "Where did you get this?" James set out of the side of his mouth to Remus, who was one seat down from him on his left (Sirius was to his immediate left, Lily to his immediate right, and Peter below Remus).

"Ask Dumbledore," Remus answered as food magically sprung onto their plates. "He just showed up late last night telling us he had a new table. And here it is."  


"This...but this table is..." Lily stammered, looking at her own carving which read: Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere).

"Look!" Peter said gleefully. "Mine says 'Mordred'!"

They each looked at theirs. Sirius was Launcelot, and Remus's was Gawain. Dumbledore leaned over from next to Lily. "Mine says 'Merlin,'" he winked. "Congratulations, Lily and James."

"Thank you, sir," they smiled in unison.

Dinner was very lengthy. It seemed, as the day went on, that the hand on every clock was purposely dragging to prolong James' and Lily's torture. They would look at each other in the midst of a speech, or during a dance, and their eyes said the same thing: HONEYMOON. As the sun slowly set, James and Lily began making their goodbyes. At last, as they were ready to leave, they only had three more people to say goodbye to: Sirius, Remus, and Peter.

"Well then," Sirius winked slyly as he gave Lily a hug. "Make sure you tell me _all_ about it."

"Haha," Lily said dryly, but smiled as they pulled away.

"Have fun, Lily. Be safe," Remus added, giving Lily a hug.

"I will Remus. Both, if I can manage."

"Bye, Lil," Peter said.

"Alright, alright!" James broke in. "Enough of you guys hugging her. I'm starting to get jealous."

"Oh, come off it, James," Remus laughed. "You be careful, too. I sometimes wonder if you have a head on your shoulders."

"I do, Moony, but sometimes it doesn't work. I'll do my best."

"See you around, James," Peter smiled and shook James's hand. "Enjoy yourself."

James exchanged a meaningful glance with Lily. "Oh, I think I will."

Finally, it was only Sirius left. James cleared his throat. "See you later, mate."

"See you..." Sirius said quietly. James blinked at him for a few moments. Looking slightly dejected, he 

turned and took Lily's hand. They were about to apparate when a call stopped them. "Oi!" James spun around. Sirius had a grin on his face. "Give 'em hell, Prongs."


	12. Severance

**Author's Chapter Notes:**

James and Lily return from their honeymoon to find Sirius and Peter in something of an uproar. Desperate for some quiet time, Remus moves into his own house to find his own surprise.

Chapter 12  
Severance

The big black dog had been hopping up and down at the window for a total of twenty minutes. Remus, trying desperately to retain his calm in the midst of the dog's incessant barking, was tearing the pages of his book with his fingers. He read the same sentence over and over: _Great grief is a divine and terrible radiance which transfigures the wretched. _The dog gave another frantic yelp. _Great grief is a divine and terrible radiance which transfigures the wretched. _It was now bellowing. _Great grief…_

"Shut up!" he cried finally, throwing down his book as the dog howled at the window curtains. "Sirius, I beg you!"

"Calm down," Sirius muttered. Within the last millisecond he had returned to human form and was sitting in a chair by the window he'd been barking at. "It's just so much easier to be excited as a dog."

Remus rolled his eyes, breathing hard. "You were driving me mad."

"It is my career, Moony!" Sirius laughed, again glancing out the window.

"Why are you looking out the window?"

"Why are you reading muggle books?"

"That had nothing to do with the first question!"

"Fine, but it's fun asking random questions. I love seeing your brain almost explode."

Remus sighed. "I'm sure you do. Call me when they get in." He started walking out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Sirius asked, half standing.

"To read in the old storm cellar." Remus scooped his book off the floor and headed outside.

"Suit yourself," Sirius grunted, scowling out the window.

"Why _are_ you looking out the window, Sirius?" Peter asked from his seat on the sofa. "You know they're going to come in by the fireplace anyway."

Sirius shrugged. "Yeah, but it's so much more fun to bark at a window. It's so primitive."  


"What is?" asked a voice from the fireplace. Sirius and Peter spun around to find James's head floating in the middle of it. He didn't have his glasses on.

"Hi, lover boy," Sirius winked. "How's the lady doing?"

"Shut up," James said, rolling his eyes. "I'm not going to be back for another day-"

"What?!" Sirius and Peter cried at the same time. "Why not?" Peter added.

"Lily and I have a few things to clear up here," James's head winked.

Sirius sighed. "Does Dumbledore know? You told him you'd only be a fortnight!"

James seemed to shrug. "Well, things have changed," he said abruptly. "Since I'm going to be late, I need you to do me a favor."

"Are you kidding me?" Sirius laughed. "I'm on vacation, too, you know. From you. Why do I need to do your work?"

"I thought we were friends," James frowned in an affronted tone.

Sirius blinked at him. "Yeah…we are, at least last I checked, but that doesn't mean I'm your doormat."

Peter looked from one to the other, as confused as Sirius was as to James's strange behavior.

"Anyway," James's head continued. "What exactly did Dumbledore want us to do again? With all that's been going on…" he let the sentence trail off with a wink.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "We were supposed to head up to Scotland because Voldemort's been seen- James, are you alright?" James had flinched when Sirius had said "Voldemort".

"Of course I'm fine," James answered confidently. "I think that was Lily, that's all. Maybe we could meet you up in Scotland…" James laughed. "Where are we going again?"

Peter rolled his eyes. "Honestly, James. You're acting like me! We going to Loch Ness. Dumbledore thinks the Death Eaters might have used that kelpie to scare muggles away."

James was silent for a moment. "Really now…that's ridiculous."

"I'm…I'm sorry?" Sirius laughed. "Are you saying Dumbledore's ridiculous?"

"That's just a stupid idea to scare away muggles with a fake monster-"

"It's not fake!" Peter gasped. "We saw a kelpie in the Mediterranean last year during summer 

break! Don't you remember?"

"Oh yeah. Well, we'll meet you up at Loch Ness then in about two hours." James's head disappeared.

Remus walked in and looked around. "Alright," he said with a grin. "Where are they hiding, I know I heard them." He glanced at Peter's and Sirius's faces. "Or…not…?"

Suddenly the fire turned green and seconds later Lily stumbled out, laughing, followed by James. "'Lo, guys!" James said pleasantly, smiling from ear to ear.

"Hi…James…Lily…" Remus said slowly, looking at the faces of Sirius and Peter. Both were staring, open mouthed, at James and Lily.

"What is going on…?" Lily asked hesitantly, the smile slowly fading from her face.

"No idea," Remus shrugged, with an eyebrow raised.

Suddenly Sirius began to laugh. He jumped out his chair and slapped James on the back. "You are too good!" he barked, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "You really had me there, I must admit." Suddenly Peter started to laugh, finally realizing why Sirius was laughing. "Oh…you're good. And on your honeymoon, too!"

James looked confusedly at Remus. "What did James do?" Lily asked, trying desperately to keep the smile on her face.

"And they persist!" Sirius cried, falling onto the couch. Peter was gasping for air.

"Okay…" Remus blinked. "I obviously missed something."

"Join the club," James muttered.

"'What's Dumbledore want us to do?' As if you didn't know!" Sirius continued laughing.

"That's it!" James cried. "What in the bloody hell are you talking about?!"

"There's no need to shout," Peter smiled. "We figured out your joke, so it's all over."

"What joke?"

"Oh c'mon, Prongs!" Peter laughed. "You in the fire? You acting like a real jerk to us?"

James and Lily exchanged a confused glance. "What? James didn't go into a fire until we got here. We were saying goodbye to the hotel staff."

"Ok, guys, it's really not funny anymore," Sirius said, regaining his composure. "You can drop 

the act. So how was your trip?"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," James said, holding up his hands. "I want to know what you're talking about. I was in the fire? Why would I be in the fire?"

"It really is alright, James," Peter continued. "You can drop the act."

Luckily, Remus stepped in before James exploded (which was clearly going to happen very soon). "What are you two talking about," Remus asked calmly, "because James and Lily obviously have no idea. What did you see in the fire?"

"James," Sirius shrugged.

"All of James or just James's head?"

"This is ridiculous…"

"C'mon, James. Let them answer."

"Just his head, Moony."

"What did he say to you?"

"He told us he'd be back later than planned, and that they'd meet us at Loch Ness."

"That's it?"

"Well…he asked us what are mission was, because he forgot."

"I never forgot!"

"James…" Remus held up his hand. "I think we should tell Dumbledore about this."

Dumbledore had forbidden them to go on any missions. After Sirius and Peter's account of what had taken place in the fire, all of their activity was suspended. He had drilled both Sirius and Peter and Lily and James on what each had been doing prior to the Potter's return. James and Lily _had_ in fact been saying their farewells to the hotel staff when "James'" head had appeared in Sirius' fire. It turns out that it wasn't James at all. Dumbledore had immediately sent a covert squad out to Loch Ness to investigate and, sure enough, a small group of disguised but known Death Eaters had appeared. It had been a set up.

"How'd they know of us?" Sirius had asked.

"The instance in Knockturn Alley with Voldemort," Dumbledore had replied gravely. He later added quietly to Remus his relief that the latter hadn't been there for the infiltrator to see. "There 

is still hope in our mission. How is your search for a house going?"

"Very well, sir," Remus had nodded. "I've just found a place and am negotiating terms with the homeowners."

"I can lend you money if you need, Remus. Just make sure to move in soon."

Remus took those words to heart, and within the month, he had already had his new home Ministry approved and was moving in. The fact that he was leaving, slightly overshadowed the previous month by Lily and James's wedding, hit the Marauders hard.

"I still don't see why," Sirius groaned as he levitated a mattress through Remus' front door. "you have to move. Didn't the Ministry say my place was alright?"

"Temporarily," Remus shrugged as he took over from the inside, placing the mattress eventually on the second floor. There was only one room on the third floor, and that was where Remus was going to be transforming. "Besides, I don't like to be a burden."

"You're not a burden!" Sirius exclaimed as he and Peter hoisted a couch into place.

"Don't lie, Sirius. I really don't mind. You know every morning after a full moon you have to haul me out of that storm cellar and drag me inside. At least here I can just stay in the same place for a few hours. I have it all planned."

James entered through the kitchen, brushing off his hands. "You're sure about this, Remus?" he asked.

Remus sighed. "Yes! I _am_ capable of taking care of myself, you know."

"We know that, Remus," James smiled. "We're just making sure. If you don't need anything else…" James added quickly glancing up at the clock. It was almost 7:00 in the evening.

"Go on home, James," Remus grinned. "I'll be fine here. Tell Lily I said 'hello'."

James grinned from ear to ear and disapparated.

"Married life," Peter sighed. "It takes our best friend away from us."

"No," Sirius retorted. "It brings two of our best friends together. God, Wormtail. Talk about your goblet being half empty. Mine is half full." He turned back to Remus. "Are you sure…?"

"Yes!" Remus cried. "Leave! Goodbye!"

"Bye," Sirius muttered and disapparated.

"Why are you moving out, Moony?" Peter asked.  


Remus smiled. "I'm twenty years old, Peter. Don't you think it's time I stopped living off of you guys and started out on my own?"

Peter shrugged. "I guess. But as you're a werewolf and all, doesn't that make a difference?"

Remus blinked at him for a few moments. "No. No it doesn't."

Peter shrugged again and disapparated, but was momentarily replaced by Dumbledore. "Good evening, Remus."

"It's all ready, sir. Is this alright?"

Dumbledore nodded. "It is, Remus. I apologize for separating you from your friends in this way."

"Don't apologize, sir. I understand why I need to. It's kind of a relief, too, in a way," Remus sat down on his couch and Dumbledore sat in an old armchair nearby. "Professor…" Remus said quietly. "Can I ask you why this is so important? The whole purpose is still pretty vague to me."

Dumbledore nodded. "Remus, I told you that you were the only one of the Order not known to the Death Eaters. I need you to work covertly with someone else to help us foil their plans."

"Who is it, sir? If I'm the only one they don't know…"

"Remus, don't be alarmed. I invited him here."

Remus furrowed his eyebrows, but was immediately distracted by a movement in the corner of the room. Remus froze, dumbfounded, as a figure pulled off an Invisibility Cloak. It was Severus Snape.


	13. Fraternity

**Author's Chapter Notes:**

Sirius goes off on a mission to Loch Ness and meets a special someone on the way while Remus deals with his own "special" encounter.

Chapter 13  
Fraternity

Loch Ness was cold and windy – as expected. Yet, Sirius still shivered and pulled his collar up around his neck. The sun was just beginning to set on the thirteenth of October – or probably was. Sirius couldn't tell because it was overcast. The clouds cast an odd pale grey color over everything in sight, making it look like a black and white slate. He sat on a bench and immediately winced. The seat was ice cold. His hair blew about his face as he slowly adjusted himself to the cool bench. Sirius looked around, wondering why he had waited for almost a month to go to Loch Ness. The lake, granted, was nice, and the hills were quite rich, but it wasn't worth the biting chill at his cheeks.

Someone with obviously the same feelings regarding Loch Ness as him sat on the opposite side of the bench. Sirius didn't feel the need to look over. He was concentrated on remaining warm and invisible. Dumbledore hadn't given up on the Loch Ness mission, only postponed it to draw attention elsewhere. The last two weeks of September and the first two weeks of October consisted of a steady stream of reports from Peter at Grendel's. Once Dumbledore had been sure that it was safe enough to resume, he secretly sent Sirius out, alone, to Loch Ness. Not even James knew where Sirius was going. He had simply said that he was going to spend a few days helping Remus settle in. Peter received the same story, but Remus was tricky. Sirius had told him the day he helped Remus moved in that he was going out with Dorcas for a weekend in Ireland. Sirius wasn't completely convinced that Remus believed him, but the latter had said nothing and shrugged. _We all have our secrets, _Sirius had thought. With that taken care of, Sirius had apparated immediately from Remus' new house to Loch Ness, and found himself within minutes sitting on an ice cold bench with a complete stranger.

Sirius rubbed his hands together. _It wasn't this cold back in London…_ he sighed to himself.

Remus stared in frozen shock as Snape draped the Invisibility Cloak over a chair and sat down. He looked just as uncomfortable as Remus was feeling inside. They both spent a good minute simply blinking at each other until Dumbledore broke the awkward silence.

"As much I do not like to break the awkward silence," he said, his eyes twinkling, "I believe it's time I informed both of you as to why you are here."

"Please do, Professor," Snape said unhappily, taking in his surroundings with a critical eye.

"Of course. I ask two things of both of you: You two are completely undercover, as you know. Severus, Remus, is our secret informant within the Death Eaters."

"Within?!" Remus gasped, unable to contain his shock.

"Yes, Lupin, within," Snape hissed.

"Severus returned to the Order earlier this year."

"I remember…" Remus said slowly. Slowly, words he'd heard long ago returned to his mind: _"I am tired of yielding to the Dark Lord's every twisted whim. If I do something in this war, I'd rather it be of my own choosing."_ "We were walking from your office and I heard you!"

Dumbledore and Snape exchanged a quick, worried glance. Remus suddenly felt like a child amidst adults. "But no one else heard it," he said quickly. "It was right before a full moon and I could hear a lot better than…than others." He had been about to say "normal people", but would have felt incredibly uncomfortable relating that to Snape, especially after what Snape had done to him in his seventh year at school: _Think of the _blood_, Lupin. Think of the _human_ blood _… How could he forget how Snape had almost turned him from his friends? He frowned up at Snape, a sudden rush of anger flowing through him. He saw by Snape's expression that Snape had remembered the same thing. Both glared at each other.

"Please," Dumbledore sighed, "put aside any previous disagreements. The mission at hand is far more important than petty differences." Both Snape and Remus blinked for a moment at him, and hung their heads in shame. "What I need," Dumbledore continued, satisfied with their reactions, "is for you two to work together to gather and analyze the information received from the Dark side. Severus, you have access to the internal workings of the Death Eaters. Remus, you will have access to the regions of the dark underworld. What I ask," he sighed suddenly, "is for you to become what others think you are."

Remus shook his head in confusion. "Sir…sir I don't understand."

"A werewolf, Remus, has limited access to the wizarding world. However, they also have access to a world where wizards dare not tread."

Remus sat back in his chair. His heart was pounding in his chest. _Do _I_ dare? _he thought to himself, but didn't say anything.

Dumbledore stood suddenly. "I will give both of you more information at a later time. Until then, Remus, we will make it so that no one can apparate into your house sometime this week. It is imperative that _no_one know of what is happening. And I mean no one, Remus."

"Yes sir," Remus said, barely audible.

"Severus," Dumbledore said, turning to where Snape was stoically standing. "I believe you have somewhere you need to be…"

Severus swallowed, a rare sign of nervousness, and Disapparated. Dumbledore turned to Remus. "I understand that tonight is a full moon and you must be exhausted. If Lily and James come 

over, please ask one of them to go to Loch Ness and try to find Sirius." With that, he Disapparated.

Sirius had ceased to feel his nose. In fact, he wasn't even sure if it was still on his face (which had also numbed completely). He'd been on the bench for at least an hour, and nothing had happened. His bench mate (who he was beginning to feel a combination of annoyance and affection for) had also been there the same amount of time. At last, Sirius could take it no longer. He turned towards the man on the bench and said simply, "It's pretty damned cold out here, isn't it?"

His bench mate froze (literally) in place. Sirius raised an eyebrow. He was as stiff as a board. "Are you alright?" Sirius tried.

His bench mate turned slowly to face him, and Sirius was able to glimpse his face beneath his capacious hood. They stared at each other for a moment, and at the same time jumped off of the bench.

"_Regulus_?!" Sirius cried, as the other cried, "_Sirius_?!

The brothers stared at each other, Regulus's hood having fallen in the jump.

"You've finished school, then?" Sirius coughed after a full minute of the brother staring at each other.

"I did," Regulus swallowed nervously.

"Nice…" Sirius cleared his throat. "Tough leaving Hogwarts, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Regulus nodded.

"You have a job?"

"I'm scraping a living together, yeah…you?"

"Same deal."

"You still see your old school friends?"

"From time to time. You?"

"Same."

Sirius licked his frozen lips. "You…so how've you been these days?" he asked.

"Good. Pretty good. You?"  


"Cold," Sirius shrugged. Regulus shared an awkward laugh. Sirius glanced around and noticed a little café in the small shopping district beside the lake. Sirius glanced at it for a long while, before turning back to his brother. "You want…?"

"I'd love to," Regulus smiled, having followed his older brother's gaze. Ten minutes later they were sitting at a table beside the window, sipping delightfully warm coffee and talking lightly about their days at Hogwarts. Neither, however, mentioned what they were actually doing outside of school.

"So what brings you to Dante's ninth circle of hell?" Sirius laughed, indicating the bitter cold outside.

Regulus rolled his eyes. "My job! They need me here to-" Regulus froze (not literally). His face was suddenly incredibly pale. "Sirius, I have to go."

"Why?" Sirius frowned, his eyebrows furrowing.

"My…I was supposed to be…Oh no…" Regulus stood quickly from his seat.

Sirius was up right after him. "Don't worry! I'll come with you and tell them I was keeping you. The Black name must mean _some_thing to _some_one around here."

Regulus emphatically shook his head. "No! We can't be seen together. Sirius, please. I really need to go."

"What's wrong, Regulus?" Sirius insisted, grabbing Regulus by the shoulders and looking at him in the eye. The younger boy was almost eye level with Sirius.

"Sirius, let me go. Please! Sirius! You're my older brother, yes, but you're not my guardian. You gave that right up five years ago." Sirius blinked dumbly at him, and Regulus took advantage of the former's momentary hesitation to quickly exit the café. Sirius, however, immediately recollected his senses and was right behind him.

"Regulus!" he called, and then stopped dead in his tracks. Out of the lake stretched before his eyes was protruding the most enormous monster he had ever seen.

"James…" Lily said as soon as he had lifted his face from hers. "I think it's time to go see Remus into his new place."

"Now?" James frowned from above her. He glanced over at the clock above the mantelpiece.

"Mmhmm," she nodded, running her hand through his untidy black hair.

"Right…now?" he moaned, bringing his face down to caress her cheek.  


"'Fraid so," she sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Oh fine," James grumbled, stepping off of the couch and smoothing out his shirt. Lily sat up and fixed her hair. James glanced over at her and grinned, "D'you think we can resume this once we've finished being friendly?"

Lily shrugged. "I don't see why not." She stood up with a smile and pulled on her robe.

"Oh, Lil," James said as he pulled his own robe over his shoulders. "You might want to button up your blouse a bit," he winked.

_So it is a kelpie…_ Sirius thought as he stared at the gigantic form looming over him. _Thank God for Fantastic Beasts…_ Sirius pulled out his wand as the creature bent its ugly neck in preparation to attack. Sirius readied himself, but his eyes darted around the lake. Somewhere nearby would have to be those manipulating the beast. Sirius glanced, searching desperately for the real enemy while maintaining a clear view of the kelpie. It, in its turn, wasn't attacking, and this made Sirius all the more nervous. He could be attacked by this thing at any time, and, while evading that attack, be ambushed by Death Eaters. _Glad the decision of whether to act first or not is easy…_ he thought sarcastically.

Just then, he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He spun around and found a shadow ducking behind a rock far away. "Gotcha," he whispered with a smirk. The kelpie, however, apparently thought the same thing, for it decided upon that moment to lunge at him. Sirius didn't have time to duck. He spun around to find the kelpie crashing down upon him at breakneck speed, and was only able to move slightly to the side. One of its enormous hoofs smashed into his left arm. With a stunned cry, Sirius was thrown to the ground, the weight of the monster's appendage pressing down on his already broken arm. The impact took all the breath that was left in Sirius. He gasped for air, but met only with a cold, agonizing sting all down his throat. Sirius was paralyzed with the pain. Despite the freezing cold, sweat broke out over his forehead as he struggled for air.

The monster reared, lifting its hoof off of Sirius's arm. On closer examination, Sirius found that the monster had actually created a small crater in the pavement, and Sirius's arm had been pinned in the very center of it. However, the sight of the crater wasn't needed to show Sirius the force and strength of the kelpie that had attacked him. The pressure that lifted was an unspeakable relief, but a searing pain returned when he tried to lift it. Desperately trying to lift himself off of the ground while still trying desperately for air, Sirius looked up and saw that the kelpie was readying for another attack.

_Now is usually when someone shows up to save the day…_ he thought dismally. But who could show up? He had gone to great lengths to ensure that no one knew where he was. As the kelpie bent its neck back in preparation for another lunge, Sirius tried to take a deep, resigned breath (it, of course, didn't come, but he felt that that was what he had to do). The monster seemed to fall in slow motion. _Now is _definitely_ the time when someone should come…_ he sighed to himself, but 

as the monster (who was not actually traveling in slow motion) fell upon him, it immediately jerked up with cement falling from its nose. Where Sirius had been, there was now only a broken area of concrete.

Sirius had had enough wits left in him to disapparate quickly from the spot. _Well, if someone doesn't come, I guess you have to do it yourself._ He only managed to temporarily get out of the monster's reach, but he still could not move. He faintly heard a popping noise beside him as he struggled to remain conscious. A hooded figure was standing before him, his cloak billowing slightly in the chill wind. A large, blue light suddenly erupted from the end of the hooded person's wand; Sirius could not see the actual wand, but figured that it was beneath the enveloping cloak. The blue light spread out across the entire lake, and Sirius could dimly see the kelpie start at the sudden onslaught. Flames erupted over the entire area in which the blue light touched, but they caused no more trouble than it had in Sirius' seventh year when he lit the Forbidden Forest on fire.

His savior, as Sirius was wont to think of the hooded figure, was not finished with the situation, however. Sirius distinctly saw the figure take a deep breath, his shoulders visibly moving beneath the cloak. _This is a seriously powerful wizard_, Sirius thought to himself, despite the slender frame of the figure. All at once, a red light flew from the wand like a dagger ion the midst of the blue light and plunged straight into the heart of the monster. This sudden act elicited a cry not only from the monster, but from Sirius and the Death Eaters on the other side of the lake. The monster plunged into the dark recesses of the lake, seeming to shrink as it fell.

With the monster gone, the figure turned his head to the area where the Death Eaters were hiding. The blue light continued to stream forward. As the figure turned his wand to where they were waiting, Sirius knew immediately what he was going to do.

"No!" Sirius cried, reaching out with his right arm to clasp the wand arm of the figure. "Please," he begged (not something he was generally accustomed to doing). "Please don't kill them," he said, thinking of his brother who was undoubtedly with them. The figure sighed. "You don't have to let them escape," Sirius continued desperately. "Just...don't kill them!" The figure nodded. The red light again erupted from his wand as Sirius let go. It flew to the rock behind which the Death Eaters were and split it into pieces. A yellow light then emitted from the wand and, before the Death Eaters (now exposed) could react, enveloped them in a net. Try as they might, there was no way out. Sirius sank back onto the ground, ready to submit himself to the darkness threatening to overcome him.

The figure knelt down at his side, gingerly touching his crushed arm with trembling fingers. Sirius was again astonished at how slender this wizard was. He made to lift Sirius from the ground, but Sirius put up his good arm to stop him. "Don't even bother," Sirius rasped. "Just call St. Mungo's. They'll take care of everything…" Sirius glanced again at the figure and tried to smile. "Is it you, Remus?" he asked, prepared to be astonished by the immense power that he had just witnessed.

The figure, to his surprise, shook his head.

"James?" Sirius gawked. "James? How can it be you? You had no idea!"

The figure laughed in a very unJames-like manner and removed his hood. Sirius was immediately met with long, red hair blowing frantically in the chill wind. Lily, obviously exhausted from the ordeal, smiled at him. "How are you, Sirius?"

"You've got to be kidding me…" Sirius sighed. "I was just saved by a girl…"

Lily shrugged. "Get used to it. Now, here are the wizards from St. Mungo's…your arm is really disgusting, Sirius."

"Oh thanks," Sirius grumbled, already swimming in and out of consciousness. "When I'm alive again, I'm going to ask you how you knew where to find me."

"You do that," Lily laughed. The St. Mungo's wizards arrived and found two people fainted on the ground.


	14. Old Friends

**Author's Chapter Notes:**

Tensions rise as the Marauders find themselves growing apart. Lily gets a blast from her past and life again changes for our crew.

Chapter 14  
Old Friends

_The sun was beginning to set when Lily and James finally arrived at Remus's house. In an effort to make sure that Lily's blouse was buttoned, they had been tangled up with...business, and had been later in coming. Remus was sitting on a musty little couch in his living room, staring at a wall, deep in thought._

"Hey, Remus," Lily smiled as they entered his house. He glanced up at them and smiled. They were immediately taken aback. His eyes were rimmed with a deep pink color, and seemed to be sinking into a black hole below. He looked as if he had never slept a moment in his life. In stark contrast to the darkness under his eyes was his incredibly pale skin, which looked to be cold and clammy.

"Remus..." James began slowly.

"I know," Remus sighed. "I figure I still have time."

James and Lily blinked at him. "Remus, this isn't like you!" Lily exclaimed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing that I can tell you about," he said with an even deeper sigh.

"I really think you should get back now, Remus," James warned, moving close to help him up. Remus shot him a quick glance, but said nothing. He also made no effort to move. "Remus, please."

"I need one of you to do something."

James and Lily exchanged glances, saying what is wrong with him?__

"Sirius is in Loch Ness, and Dumbledore needs one of you to go to him."

"Loch Ness?" Lily repeated. "What's he doing there?"

Remus shrugged and shuddered slightly. James quickly glanced out the window. The sun was almost set. "Remus, let's go outside, huh?"

Remus still didn't respond. "Moony," James said, walking over to the couch and laying a hand on Remus's shoulder. "Moony, come on."

"You'd better leave Lily," Remus suddenly offered, and Lily didn't need to be told twice. She 

_walked over to James and touched his arm._

"I'll go to Sirius. You stay here."

James shook his head in confusion. "I don't know, Lil. We don't even know what he's doing."

"It's all right. I'll be fine there."

"I probably won't be home tonight."

"Then I won't wait up for you."

"Hurry and go, Lily," Remus said, clutching his arms. Lily nodded and Disapparated. Within minutes, a loud, piercing cry echoed throughout the night sky. Moments later, a stag and a huge wolf burst from Remus's house, bounding towards the forest. 

Lily threw herself down onto the bed in James' flat. She lay on top of the covers, fully clothed, simply trying to breath. The sun was only barely coming up after a long night as she lay there. She hadn't really gotten any sleep at all. Fainting, she figured, didn't count.

She had spent what had remained of the night in and out of consciousness in a hospital room at St. Mungo's. There was nothing physically wrong with her, save exhaustion of the entire body due to the stress of the spell…and the fact that all she could see was blue. Instead of the customary blackness that surrounds one who cannot see, she was surrounded by bright blue, and it was nauseating. A nurse from St. Mungo's had traveled with her to James's flat, and Lily had desperately felt her way to their bed. She didn't dare move, for fear of seriously injuring herself, or breaking something valuable.

_Speaking of Sirius,_ she thought with a smile. As a result of her faintness, she wasn't entirely sure what had become of him. She dimly remembered a group of healers around a bed next to her, as well as a gallon of Skele-gro, but that was all…and some angry mumbling about the taste of the potion.

A faint popping noise was heard in the adjoining room, and was followed by the sound of footsteps walking into the kitchen. An off-key whistle was heard to the supposed tune of a Muggle song as a bottle of what Lily assumed to be butterbeer was opened.

"Did you hear about the Longbottoms, Lil?" James called from the kitchen, not even sure if she was in the house. "Apparently they faced off with Voldemort the other week! Yeah, I don't know all the details…sounds something like ours, actually, only he started off with Frank instead of Alice."

"Hi, James," she called weakly, putting enough effort into her voice to make it heard. "Are they alright?"

"Ah!" he answered. "My blushing bride! Oh my darling, I have traveled far from yonder lands to ravage thee – what's wrong?!" James's voice had progressively grown louder, until, at the final exclamation, he was obviously in the bedroom.

"How are the Longbottoms?" Lily repeated to the blueness where she guessed James was.

"Lil…why are you staring at the flower vase?"

"We have a flower vase in here? I forgot."

"Lily what's wrong?!" James demanded again.

"Do we have any food? I'm starving."

"Oh my God…" James gasped, suddenly feeling himself become pale and sweaty. He groped at the wall for support. "Lily…are you …_pregnant_…?"

"Pregnant?!" she cried.

"Then what is it?!"

"Sirius got into a bit of a bind last night."

James's mouth dropped open. "A bit of a….a bit of a…. Oh God! You're pregnant with _Sirius's_ baby!" James roared and jumped to the door. "I'll kill him! I swear!"

"Sit down, James!" Lily sighed loudly. "I'm not pregnant at all. At least not the last time I checked."

"You checked?" James asked, calmer now and interested.

Lily shrugged. "Might as well, right? Anyway, he got into a bit of a bind with the Loch Ness monster, which was apparently being engorged by Death Eaters. He was practically dead when I got there."

"And?"

"And we didn't get pregnant, that's for sure. Honestly, James. What kind of a person do you think I am? And where did you get that idea?"

"I don't know!" James said, affronted. "I know girls start acting really strangely and bad stuff happens, so I didn't know. I'm sorry, OK?"

"But with Sirius?"

"I said I'm sorry! So then what did you do?"  


"Well, I needed a spell big enough to confuse something that…well, _big_, so I used the blue flame charm Sirius used in seventh year on the forest. Then I threw in a major _Stupefy_ to get the monster, then a netting charm on a couple of Death Eaters. I don't know how that worked out."

"Oh…" James nodded, sitting on the bed to think properly. Much against his will, some of his concern was ebbing away for a new feeling: pride. "So that's why you can't see. And how's Sirius?"

"I don't know," Lily shrugged, closing her eyes.

"Well you must know _something_. Is he at St. Mungo's?"

"Mm-hm."

"Alive?"

"Probably."

"And you're not pregnant?"

"Not yet."

"If you were…would you tell me?"

"Yes, James."

"If you were with Sirius's kid, would you tell me?"

"Probably not."

"I guess it's better that way…" James cleared his throat and added in a low voice, "Is there a chance you and him _could_ have-"

"No! Let me sleep!"

Sirius made a disgusted face as a healer removed the Skele-gro from his lips. "That stuff…" he growled to his attendants, "is evil. That's all there is to it."

"But it's working," James said fairly, indicating Sirius's arm. It was bandaged from the hand to the shoulder, magically suspended a foot above the bed. He, Lily, and Peter had arrived at St. Mungo's that afternoon for Lily's check-up and to visit Sirius. Lily had been finished quickly, and though she came out rather paler than before, she announced that everything was fine – including her eyesight.

"Bah," Sirius grunted. "It's not worth it. I'm sure it would have healed on its own in no time."

"I'm not so sure," Lily laughed. "It was completely crushed to nothing, Sirius. There was barely any actual bone left."

Sirius shrugged and coughed a little. The overall prognosis was pretty good: Sirus had managed to escape with, along with a severely broken arm, several cracked ribs. In light of what could have happened, they were all relieved.

"Maybe you have no idea what it actually looked like, Padfoot," Peter offered, looking slightly ill at the foot of the bed. "It was…disgusting."

"Yes, thank you, Peter, I did actually see it," Sirius groaned, rolling his eyes.

"Sorry," Peter said, feigning an apologetic face, though he was smiling.

"You're such a bad liar, Peter," James laughed.

"It is my curse in life," Peter shrugged, his eyes twinkling.

"Speaking of curses…" Sirius began slowly and quietly, "Where's our mate Moony?"

"Exhausted on his bed, probably out until way afternoon," James sighed. "I really don't know why he waited so long to get ready to transform. I told you the story, right?"

"Right," Sirius muttered. "Is he asleep?"

"Either that or dead," James shrugged casually. "I'll check up on that later today. Hey…" he began with interest. "If you both had died we could have saved a fortune on your funerals and done them together! I'm a genius," James added, leaning back in his chair with his hand behind his head.

"You're a git," Lily laughed, slapping him hard on the stomach. James's "cool" posture was immediately broken. "Oww…" was all they heard from his corner for a while.

"He is right, though," Peter said with a grin. "If two of us die at the same time, whoever's left won't have too much to pay!"

Lily blinked at him. "You're cheap, Peter. Both of you, but since I also control your Gringotts account, James, I will spend lavishly on my friends when they die. Separately. When they're old and ugly." She immediately realized her mistake and waited for Sirius's inevitable, "_I_ won't be ugly!"

Sirius was busy staring at his shattered arm. All three of the others looked up at him, also waiting for his speech. "So…" he began questioningly, and the others either rolled their eyes or grinned broadly. "Remus isn't here."  


This surprised the group. "Yeah, I think that would be pretty obvious," James said, "as he didn't just make a sarcastic remark about you being old."

"Wait…" Peter said, "There's a joke coming out of this, I know there is."

Sirius suddenly glared at him. "Why in the hell would there be a joke from that?" The environment in the room completely changed. All grins evaporated into a look that was a mix of concern and confusion.

"What are you talking about then, Sirius?" James asked, the only one brave enough to confront Sirius in an obviously dark mood.

"Oh, nothing," Sirius shrugged, "you know, just kind of wondering why one of my best mates isn't here to see how I'm doing."

"He- I can't believe you're actually saying this!" James gasped, his voice growing steadily louder. Lily put her hand on his arm. "You know," he sighed, breathing heavily and lowering his voice, "you of all people know how Remus is after a full moon. C'mon, Sirius. Don't be stupid."

"'Course," was all Sirius would say.

"I think it's time we left," James said suddenly, standing up so quickly that Peter jumped. "You look like you need to sleep, Sirius. We'll see you later."

"You _would_ take the easy way out," Sirius growled.

James's entire body tensed, and a look of utmost anger stole across his features, but, surprisingly, he avoided conflict and stormed out of the room, with Peter and Lily at his feet.

Snape was not the most pleasant thing to see when one first woke up. He certainly was not on Remus's list of favorite things to wake up to.

"I'm sorry I had to awaken you," Snape said quietly, and Remus, though incredibly groggy, was surprised to find that he actually seemed regretful. He also noticed that Snape avoided looking at him whenever possible.

"Where am I again?" Remus asked hoarsely, almost in a whisper. His vision wasn't completely agreeing with him and the walls were a blur. He was also not used to his new house enough to recognize it.

"In your bedroom," Snape complied unexpectedly, and sat down awkwardly in a chair beside Remus's bed. The same chair, in fact, that James had occupied only minutes before.

"That's nice," Remus smiled and closed his eyes. Sleep immediately overtook him.  


Snape looked over at him, opening his mouth to speak, and then noticed that Remus had fallen asleep. "Really now," Snape sighed impatiently and shook him awake again. Remus moaned and tried to turn away. "I know you're tired, Lupin," Snape sighed even more heavily, "but you need to hear this immediately."

"I doubt immediately," Remus groaned, but forced his eyes open. "Sorry for the reception, Severus," he mumbled, his vision fading in and out. Such is exhaustion.

"Yes, well," Snape began, but finished. His usual sarcasm was slightly muddled by the pitiable sight of Remus in front of him. "Anyway, I have some very important documents to show you, Lupin, and then I…" he looked back over Remus, who was rubbing his eyes hard.

"It's alright, Severus, I'm listening," Remus attempted to swing his legs over the side of his bed. _This is embarrassing,_ he thought as he found movement virtually impossible. Snape leaned over and helped him into a sitting position, his legs hanging over the side. "Thanks," he muttered, keeping his head down. "Sorry, Severus. What else did you need to do?"

Snape continued to look at him for a moment, judging if he'd done the right thing in coming here. "I need you to take the information directly to Dumbledore. I'm really on a rather tight schedule."

"Of course," Remus nodded. "Where are these documents?"

Remus squinted his eyes so as to see the writing better. There were several scribbled notes written hastily in Snape's usually steady handwriting. Reading was particularly difficult now, but by Snape's nervous stance Remus guessed the writing was important.

"I took the notes in case I forgot," Snape was saying hastily. "I know it was foolish to risk something in writing, but so much is happening…" he trailed off, looking out through a window. There was a very light rain that was falling outside, but Snape wasn't focused on it. His eyes had turned inwards. Remus, however, didn't notice as he was absorbed in the writing.

"So it seems…" Remus said quietly, thinking that Snape was still talking of the documents. His brow furrowed as he read over the writing. "But why…he already tried this. Why is he trying again?"

Snape rolled his eyes. "I cannot fathom the Dark Lord's mind, Lupin."

Remus ignored him. "But why…why is it still Lily? All evidence points to her, but she's obviously against it. Frank Longbottom, too. I don't understand why he's going after them. They are very clearly opposed to him."

"I may have a few theories," Snape said slowly. "Some better than others. But concerning Lily I have one that seems based in some fact."

"And that is?" Remus looked up.

"I don't quite know how to put this, Lupin…" Snape stopped short, looking confused.

Remus rolled his eyes, mistaking Snape's look. "You know, Severus," he said in frustration, "just because I'm a werewolf doesn't mean I can't understand what you say-"

"That is not what I mean, Lupin," Snape snapped. "Come off it for a moment. It's just…rather awkward, really." Remus focused on Snape's face (not an easy task) and saw that he looked extremely nervous. "I believe – and it is just a belief, Lupin, not hard fact – that the Dark Lord…I-" Snape grunted in frustration at not having the right words. "I think he is slightly attracted to Potter," he said quickly.

"To…to _James_?" Remus said in shock. His senses were indeed obscured by fatigue.

"No, idiot!" Snape growled. "To Lily!"

"But…but you said 'Potter'…"

"Yes, Lupin, because they are _married_!" Snape said in exasperation.

"Oh!" Remus exclaimed. "Sorry, I forgot." He rubbed his forehead, and Snape immediately softened. "Anyway, how do you figure that?"

"That they're married?" Snape snapped, his voice rising.

"That Voldemort," a deep shudder ran through Snape's body at the mention of his master's name. Remus pretended not to notice, "is attracted to Lily."

"What I mean," said Snape, regaining his composure, "is that there is something about her that the Dark Lord is unable to look past, which, if I may say, is quite surprising when you remember that she is a Mudblood." Remus raised an eyebrow at the word but didn't interrupt him. "'Attracted' may not have been the best word choice."

"And Frank?"

"As to that, I haven't the faintest idea, other than that he is a pure-blood."

"So is James," Remus shrugged, "and it's rather obvious that Voldemort," again, a troubled shudder from Snape, "has no desire to have him on his side."

"Who would?" Snape muttered darkly.

Remus opened his mouth to protest, but coughed slightly.

"Perhaps you should rest now, Lupin…" Snape said quietly.  


"I'm alright," Remus said, breathing deeply. "Really. I'll go to Dumbledore."

"If you think you can manage-" suddenly Snape's face blanched. He clenched his teeth. "I must leave immediately."

Remus nodded, glancing down at where Snape's right hand had involuntarily grasped his left arm. They shared a look, and Snape hesitated for a moment. Remus finally noticed how awkward Snape had been throughout the entire meeting. Snape, for some reason, looked unsure, almost guilty as he stared back at Remus, who refused to let Snape's eyes go. Had any of the Marauders been there, they would have immediately characterized the moment as one of Remus's "penetrating stares" and wondered what was so important. This was the look Remus was currently giving Snape, and the latter, for all of his coolness, was clearly uncomfortable. Remus's eyes narrowed, and Snape's hand twitched. "Go," Remus said, releasing Snape from his glance at last. "I'll take care of everything."

"Be quick about it, Lupin," Snape warned, and Disapparated.

Lily was the first to reach the exterior of St. Mungo's. Peter and James had stayed behind to clear things up with the attendant. Therefore, they didn't notice the hand that reached out to grab her arm. She spun around to find herself staring into a face she would recognize anywhere. Her mouth dropped open as the person led her gently but firmly into an alleyway next to the hospital.

"Hello, Mrs. Potter," the voice said pleasantly and with suppressed feeling. "It has been a while."

Lily gawked at the face in shock for a few moments before she was able to articulate a word: "Tom," she breathed.


	15. The Second Defiance

**Author's Chapter Notes:**

Again, I think it's self-explanatory.

Chapter 15  
The Second Defiance

Remus was as quick about it as physically possible (which wasn't too quick). He stashed the documents safely in his robe pocket, checking a million times to make sure they wouldn't fall out. He was dressed only in a very old pair of sweatpants, an extremely shabby t-shirt from his school days (which was still, sadly, too big for him), and an even shabbier set of robes. He Apparated just outside of Hogwarts and begged Hagrid to find a carriage to take him up to the school. He simply couldn't walk. Inside the school, Hagrid virtually carried him up to Dumbledore's office.

"Hagrid, please," Dumbledore's voice called. "I apologize, but I am very busy right now."

"I know, Professor Dumbledore, sir," Hagrid returned, supporting Remus who was almost asleep at his side. "But Remus Lupin is 'ere an' he says he needs to speak with yeh-oh!" Dumbledore immediately opened the door.

"Hurry in," he said anxiously, seeing Remus's state. "Help him into a chair Hagrid, yes just there. Thank you," he said earnestly. Hagrid nodded and left. Dumbledore kneeled down in front of Remus's chair. "Remus," he said quietly, gently rubbing his arm. Remus had fallen asleep.

He started awake, looked disoriented, and then remembered where he was. "Professor," he said in a raspy voice. "Sir, Severus has just been by."

"Remus, you should be resting," Dumbledore chided gently. Remus's face was devoid of any color – save the deep black circles around his sunken eyes.

Remus smiled and forced a laugh. "That's what Snape said." He leaned his head back on the armchair.

"No, no," Dumbledore said, and pulled Remus up, supporting him under his arm and carrying him to a bed he suddenly conjured up. "Sleep here as long as you need."

"Thank you, sir…" Remus whispered. "I have papers…in my pocket…" he gestured feebly towards his robe. "Severus says…he fancies something about Lily…"

"Severus does?" Dumbledore, confused, asked as he opened Remus's pocket and removed Snape's notes.

"No…Vol…Voldemort…" Remus's eyelids fluttered closed. He forced them open again, though they barely obeyed them.

Dumbledore unfolded the parchment and read through it quickly. He nodded gravely. "That would explain it, and Frank as well. Was Severus in a hurry?"

"Yes sir…the Dark Mark…and…"

"I see. Voldemort must be acting now." Dumbledore stood so quickly that Remus almost jumped. "He won't make the same mistake this time, confronting her alone. He will have his Death Eaters on hand. But…" his voice became quiet as he thought desperately for answers, "…where would Lily be now?"

Remus whispered something, realized he couldn't be heard, and spoke louder. "S…Sirius…"

Dumbledore's eyes widened. "Of course! St. Mungo's! He wouldn't attack her in the city…that would be foolish…will she be with James?"

"Yes, sir…"

Dumbledore nodded. "I'll send them immediately…"

"Who…?"

"The Order. Please rest, Remus. Thank you for your help." Dumbledore hurried to his odd silver instruments, but Remus couldn't see what he was doing. In moments, Moody and the several other Order members were entering the office through the fireplace. Moody, upon seeing Remus, rushed over. Remus had fallen asleep and looked as if he were dead.

"Lupin!" he said in a growl. "What's wrong with him, Albus? Was it the Death Eaters."

"Something far worse, I'm afraid," Dumbledore said sadly as more Order members filed in. "Last night was a full moon."

"Poor kid," Moody said quietly, as Remus's eyes opened slightly. Moody offered him a pitying smile. "Hello there."

"Hey…" Remus whispered with a smile.

Dumbledore walked over and handed Moody the papers. "Brief the Order, will you? Then take them to St. Mungo's. Be warned – Voldemort will stop at nothing to have Lily on his side." He then conjured a wet cloth and proceeded to wipe Remus's clammy forehead. "One day this will end," Dumbledore muttered to Remus, as he brushed a sweaty bit of hair from the latter's face. "I promise this will end."

"It's alright, sir," Remus smiled bravely.

"I'm going to give you something that will help you sleep," Dumbledore said quietly as the voices behind him sprang to life. Apparently, Moody was informing them.  


"That's not necessary-"

"Oh yes it is," Dumbledore smiled. "You will never be able to sleep with all the noise in here."

"I don't want to hold you up, sir," Remus persisted.

Dumbledore turned around in time to see the members of the Order rushing to the fireplaces. "You see, Remus?" he smiled. "You are not."

Remus finally smiled, relenting. "I am always just a burden it seems," he said quietly.

"Never say that, Remus," Dumbledore said seriously, retrieving a bottle from his capacious sleeve (though Remus suspected it hadn't been there before). He unscrewed the lid and, with one hand, tilted Remus's head up. With the other he helped Remus consume the Potion. "There you are," he said tenderly returning the Potion to his sleeve.

"Thank you, sir," Remus smiled, "for everything."

"Remus, it is what I live for," Dumbledore said gently, running his hand again across Remus's brow. "Sleep now. I will be here when you wake."

"I know you will," Remus mumbled as he closed his eyes. The last image in his mind before he faded was Dumbledore's kind face, ready to tend to his every need.

"Tom…what do you think you're doing…?" Lily said breathlessly as they crammed into an unnaturally dark alleyway. Lily hadn't felt this much fear since she had first faced Voldemort, but she had never expected to him again. She called him Tom, of course, because that was how she knew him, but his facial appearance hadn't changed since he'd revealed himself as Voldemort. The same pale skin, the barely human features, and the startling red eyes.

"You know, Lily," he continued, as if without interruption, "I have trouble overlooking our similarities. Both of our eyes are quite unique in color." A thought flashed through Lily's head as he spoke.

"Yours were not always like this, though, were they Tom?" Lily questioned with more courage than she thought.

The immaculate red eyes rolled in the snake-like head. "No, unfortunately, but that, of course, was quickly remedied."

"I miss your human form, Tom," Lily continued bravely. "It was much more appealing. Though the malice remained."

"Perhaps, but I did hide it well," Voldemort said with a sneer. "You fell for it."  


"If you mean for the trick, Tom, I readily admit it," Lily shrugged, feeling that to lie now would only worsen her present state. "I fell for it."

"You see the incredible power I have, Lily?" he persisted. "I fooled even you into believing I was…"

"Good?" she tried. "Human? I see my mistake now."

"But what is human, Lily?" he asked flippantly, waving aside the word as if it had no significance. "It is relative. Your friend the werewolf is not human, yet you allow him to remain beside you."

"He is good, Tom," Lily pointed out. "That is the fundamental difference between his humanity and yours. His goodness makes him human. You, I'm afraid, are lacking in humanity because of your cruelness."

"So I've heard," he shrugged elegantly. "Besides, I am not to be compared to a werewolf."

"I see little difference," she said coldly.

Voldemort fixed his red eyes closely on her. "What is it that keeps you from me?" he asked quietly. "You realize that I hold all the power in the world…power even over death."

"I am not afraid of death," Lily said boldly.

Voldemort looked disgusted. "Perhaps you should be. Death is a great weakness. A great weakness of humanity."

"Tom, do you have a reason in coming here," she asked, "or did you simply wish to talk? If so, it's been nice chatting with you." Lily turned to go, realizing that she was dancing an extremely dangerous dance with death. She felt confident, however, that Voldemort wouldn't kill her. Not just yet, at least.

"You cannot leave," he said forcefully, and despite herself, Lily found that she could not move.

"Then come with me," she said suddenly, not allowing him to look away from her eyes. "Come with me and we'll go to Dumbledore. Everything will be set to right."

"Right, my dear girl, is also relative," Voldemort hissed, walking closer to her. "I have no wish to see Dumbledore. I have chosen my path – the path of greatness. Come with _me_."

"I have also chosen my path, Tom," Lily stated simply. "I'm not going with you. Ever."

"Not willingly I suppose," he said with a bored sigh. "Nevertheless, you will join me."

"Now that's not very fair," another voice sighed, but in the darkness, the figure could not be seen. "Taking a woman against her will. Honestly, Lord Voldemort, where are your manners?"

"Ah, Potter. I wondered when you'd turn up. No matter." The darkness immediately receded enough so that James was visible.

"You seem to be slacking, Lord," James taunted, "Why in the hell did you take her to an alleyway? That seems a bit juvenile, don't you think? Like what Muggles do."

"Oh, you're clever, Potter, really," Voldemort jeered. "You barely survived me last time. What makes you think you will this time?"

"More practice…?" James tried. He and Lily exchanged glances. This one would not be easy.

"No, this one will _not_ be easy," Voldemort said with a terrible smirk. They had forgotten how accomplished he was at Legilimency. "However…" Voldemort said suddenly, and thin, snakelike cords erupted from the end of his wand, encircling James before either could react.

"No!" Lily cried as James, loosing balance, toppled to the ground.

"Yes," Voldemort countered smoothly. "This should be easy. Now Lily, I insist you come with me or…" he gestured at James with one of his long hands, "Potter will die."

Lily looked from one to the other, thinking fast. She had seen this kind of trick employed in various books, but she had never expected it to happen to her. She went over her options: join Voldemort to save James; refuse Voldemort and watch James die; or…slowly, a plan formed in her head as Voldemort waited patiently. Lily concentrated, shutting her mind to all exterior interference. Voldemort frowned, his one link to her thoughts suddenly blanked.

Lily looked once more at James, and shook her head. James's eyes widened. "You can't be serious!" he cried.

"I'm _not_ Sirius," she shrugged sadly, but looked meaningfully at him. He furrowed his brow, unaware of what exactly was going on. She raised her eyes mournfully at Voldemort. "If I hear one thing, one tiny rumor of his death, torture, or odd disappearance…" she let the sentence trail off, her meaning obvious to both of them.

Voldemort didn't seem to believe it, but with no access to her thoughts, he had nothing else to go on.

Lily sighed deeply and hung her head in total resignation. A cold, cruel sneer spread across Voldemort's reptilian face. He turned to James, making sure he could make him stationery until he and Lily were gone. That split second, the hairsbreadth he'd turned his head, was all she need. Her wand was out in a flash and, even quicker, a burst of blue flame shot from the tip of her wand the spell was rapidly becoming the Marauders' favorite, directly into Voldemort's unsuspecting face. At the same time, a Severing Charm was performed on James's bonds. 

Simple, but Voldemort hadn't been expecting resistance. He threw his hands to his face, and James, illuminated by the flame rushing at Voldemort, shoved off his bonds and stood, running to Lily's side.

"We need to go!" he cried. "This spell won't stop him forever!"

"No, it won't," Voldemort's cold voice growled behind them. They froze, aware immediately that he'd Apparated from his original place to behind them. Gryffindors though they had been, fear wrapped itself around their entire being. They knew, without a doubt, that there was no way for them to survive. James thought desperately of Peter, who he'd left at the door to St. Mungo's. Where was he? Why didn't he help?

"James!" a voice cried into the darkness suddenly.

"You are always saved by reinforcements," Voldemort said angrily. "This time, however, you will not escape."

But a thought had already formed in James's head. Without a second's thought, he plunged his hand into his pockets, whipped out the Invisibility Cloak, and swung it over Lily and himself. With one hand holding the Cloak together, he threw Lily onto the ground, along with himself. This was done in a fraction of a second. As soon as that happened, spells began to rain into the darkness, so that James and Lily could see Voldemort as red, yellow, orange, and a variety of colors. A mass of people could be seen running from the shadows. Voldemort was suddenly gone, as was the darkness.

James and Lily lay panting underneath the Cloak, too shocked at the encounter as well as their magnificent escape to think of removing it. This caused the first person in to fall unceremoniously onto his face. James was shaken back into reality and rubbed his side. Sitting up, the Cloak fell across his lap, and Lily's as she rose. The result was that only their torsos were visible. A few of the group gasped, and others laughed in relief. The person on the ground was moaning terribly.

"My arm…my bloody arm…" he groaned.

"_Sirius_?!" James exclaimed.

"Arrghh…yes..." Moody stumbled over to him and helped him to his feet.

"What the hell are you doing here?" James demanded, fighting between anger and laughter. "You're not supposed to be out!"

"Yeah, well," Sirius groaned. "Since when have I listened to authority?" He was only barely on his feet, fully supported by Moody. "I think I broke more ribs," he gasped as he tried to breathe properly. "That damned fall…"

"That was your own fault!" Lily laughed. "Why'd you leave?"  


"I came out to say bye to you blokes because I felt kinda bad about how you'd left and all. I was in the lobby – taking my good old time, mind you – when Wormtail half ran into me, yelling about how you were fighting Voldemort, and that he couldn't see you anymore…blah blah. I need to lie down…" he moaned. Healers from St. Mungo's were already rushing into the alleyway. They conjured a stretcher and Sirius gratefully laid in it.

"I always knew Black had no brains," Moody grunted, and then looked at Lily and James, "but you two! Facing Voldemort alone, _again_?"

"Not by choice," James grunted as he raised himself to his feet. "He just seems to pop up around us. Which is kinda funny, because I thought we had a spy who was supposed to be watching for this kind of thing." He looked around for Peter, who was not amongst the crowd.

"I don't think we should hang around here right now," Lily said nervously.

Moody looked around. "Maybe…but Voldemort chose this spot."

"Which was pretty stupid, if you ask me," Sirius added from his stretcher.

"Yes, but no one did," Moody snapped. Sirius rolled his eyes as the Healers carried him away. Moody moved up close to James as the latter bent to help Lily up from the ground. "Dumbledore's got a few well grounded theories about this whole thing, so when we're finished here you'd better go and see him – in private," he added meaningfully.

James furrowed his brow as he helped Lily to stand. "Everything alright?" she asked upon seeing his face.

James glanced over at her. "Lil, we just fought one of the most powerful wizards in the world for a second time and barely won. Other than that, yeah, everything's pretty good, thanks. You?"


	16. The Woes of Mr Potter

**Author's Chapter Notes:**

James's anger, fears, and emotions finally come to a culmination when he and Dumbledore have a chat. Meanwhile, Peter deals with the aftermath of nearly abandoning James.

Chapter Sixteen  
The Woes of Mr. Potter

Peter had immediately fled after telling Sirius. He didn't wait around to find out what had happened. He Apparated directly to Knockturn Alley, hoping that he could use the excuse that he had been working. As a rat he slunk into _Grendel's_ and hid in the corner to collect his thoughts. Voldemort had once again attacked Lily and James, and soon the Order would be wondering how they didn't know. Their thoughts would immediately turn to Peter, whose job it was to spy on the Death Eaters.

Peter glanced around the room. It was barely inhabited. Only a few odd sorts were dwindling near the bar or at a dark table. Why hadn't he told Dumbledore? It was a simple reason to him, but one that he knew he could never divulge to any of the Order. He came, of course, every day to _Grendel's_ listening closely to all that the Death Eaters would say. He'd done what he was supposed to do, but the reports were becoming increasingly infrequent.

They'd been speaking of turning an Order member to their side for some time now. They mentioned the importance of this Order member to their plans and that, after this was finished, they could truly triumph over Dumbledore. It was always Dumbledore. The Order was only mentioned as a side note, a little nuisance in the way of their true objective. Peter figured that both the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix were just pawns in the middle of a personal struggle between Voldemort and Dumbledore. Obviously, neither would ever admit it, but that's how Peter viewed the entire war. He wondered, more frequently than not, whether it was all worth it. All the trouble this war was causing was over two people. Why not simply duel it out and let the winner take all?

Peter enjoyed thinking, while the Death Eaters were away and all was quiet, who would win in a duel. He'd always thought that Dumbledore was the most powerful. Rumors that Voldemort's only fear was Dumbledore backed that thought, but he'd heard of Voldemort's power as well, however, and had witnessed it twice now. All that he had ever seen Dumbledore do was make a grand entrance into the cellars of Hogwarts in his seventh year. Voldemort, without breaking a sweat, had bested both Lily and James, who were powerful in Peter's mind. Without breaking a sweat or showing any real agitation. That, in Peter's mind, was real power.

Lily heard James Apparate into the kitchen and took a deep, steadying breath. She had never, in all of her life, felt so nervous. With trembling legs she stood from the bed and walked out into the foyer. "Hi, James," she tried, and her voice sounded weak.

He didn't look up. "Hey, Lil."

"Did you get to all of the Muggles who may have seen?" she asked, sitting on the couch for her legs would no longer support her.

He shrugged. "Yep."

"Thank God…" Lily was quiet. "James," she said suddenly. He looked over. "James, I have something I need to tell you…"

He sat down beside her, seeming too tired to stand. "I'm listening."

"James…" Lily took a deep breath. "When I was at the hospital, they did a bit of a check up, you know?" He nodded, staring at his hands. She bit her bottom lip. "Er…they…they told me something, James."

He glanced over at her, his tired eyes wild. "Are you alright?" he asked, a hint of fear in his voice. "Is everything…OK?"

She nodded. "Yeah, yeah, everything's fine…it's just…" She wiped her face off with her hand. "James, they told me that I'm pregnant."

James blinked at her. "You're…I'm sorry?"

"I'm pregnant, James."

James stared at her, looking from one eye to the other, seeking the truth. "Honestly, Lil? I mean…really?"

She nodded. "I…I was going to tell you earlier, but with Sirius and…and everything that happened today."

"Of course," he nodded, his voice thick.

"Are you alright, James?" she implored, more nervous than before.

He nodded. "Yeah. Of course, yeah, Lil, I'm fine. God. _Pregnant_…Lily this is…this is amazing, it really is." He looked into her eyes, and she into his. A small smile played across his face. Lily smiled as well, feeling a tear run down her cheek as one ran down his. He immediately grabbed her into his arms, rocking back and forth as each sobbed onto the other's shoulder. "I wish I could give you a safer place, Lily," James said quietly. "God, do I wish it. If anything happens to you…"

"Is that what you've been worried about?" she asked, pulling away and looking into his face. "Me?" He nodded, unable to speak. "James," she smiled, putting her hand up to his face. "Don't worry about me. I know I'll be safe."

"How can you be so confident?" he asked in a whisper.  


She smiled. "You told me once, a long time ago, that you would always protect me."

James sighed. "I will, Lily, I promise I will, but I don't know how long I can last out there. You saw what happened today. He's just…he's so powerful, and I can't fight that."

"You didn't seem to think that when you saved me from the dementor all those years ago."

"No…no I didn't think that…"

"Well I still believe in you, James, and I still believe that you'll keep us safe."

He looked into her eyes. "I will, Lily," he said with sudden firmness. "I promise you that, while I live, neither you nor the baby will ever come to harm." Another tear rolled down his face. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a protective embrace. "I swear it," he said quietly.

"Enter," Dumbledore's voice sounded. James flung the door open and stormed into the room, the door slamming behind him. He stopped directly in front of Dumbledore's desk and seemed so angry that he didn't notice Remus sitting in the small alcove behind Dumbledore, eyeing him warily.

"I am glad to see that you are alright," Dumbledore said, completely nonplussed at James's entrance. "Is Lily?"

James gave a small nod, not moving his eyes from the headmaster.

Dumbledore looked down at the papers in front of him. James didn't move. "I am sorry that this has happened again, James."

"Moody said you had information for me," James said in a dry, monotone voice.

"I do." Dumbledore stood and handed James the papers. He read over them slowly, his vision clouding and his mind numbing with the rage that was already boiling up inside of him. He handed them back to Dumbledore without a word.

There was another long silence. Finally, James looked up at Dumbledore. "Did Peter give you this information?" he asked, his voice quiet and deadly.

Dumbledore shook his head. "I received it from a different source."

"Isn't it Peter's job to find this stuff out?" Before Dumbledore could answer, James continued. "Isn't it Peter's job to tell us this _before_ Voldemort attacks my wife?" Dumbledore sat back, watching James very closely. His voice was calm, monotonous, and controlled, but his words were laced with malice. In truth, Dumbledore had never seen James this angry. "I think he needs 

a new job, Professor," he spat with such venom that Remus's mouth slightly opened.

"I have new, more reliable people working on it now as well, James. This won't happen again, not like this."

James simply looked at him. "It had better not…" James warned. "If it does…not now. I will _not_ allow Lily to get into any more danger, do you hear me? NONE!" His voice had risen to a shout, the control lost as his breathing became harder.

"What has happened, James?" Dumbledore asked in a voice of infinite calm.

"'What has happened'?!" James cried. "'_What has happened?!_' Dumbledore!" James exclaimed, tears suddenly streaming down his face. "Lily is pregnant, Dumbledore! She's pregnant!" He shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "Sir…if she dies…I can't let her! I'll never forgive myself! I never should have married her! I should have had her go away somewhere! Somewhere far away! Then she could've been safe, and happy, and…and…"

"James…" Dumbledore said quietly. He was suddenly at James's side. "If you had sent her away, you would never have been able to know the joy that is approaching you. James, James," Dumbledore placed his hands firmly on James's shoulders. "Listen to me. Nowhere in this world is safe, not with Voldemort. Lily, James, even if you had tried to send her away, would never have gone. She chose to fight with you. She wants a safe world just as you do and as I do. For you, James, for her…and for your child."

"My child…" James sobbed quietly, sinking into a chair.

"Yes, James, your child." Dumbledore kneeled down in front of him.

"Dumbledore…" James said quietly. "I need you to promise me something." Dumbledore nodded. "I need you to promise me that…if anything happens, anything…you'll take care of him. Please sir. Don't let anything happen to him."

"James, I swear to you that as long as I live, I will let nothing happen to your child." In a sudden moment of inspiration, Dumbledore turned around. "Remus, come here please." Remus staggered over, feeling as if he were intruding upon something very private. "Hold out your wand, please. Yes. Perfect, thank you. Repeat yourself, James."

"Repeat…?" James looked from Remus to Dumbledore. "Sir?"

"This is an Unbreakable Vow, James. This should provide you with all the security you will need." Dumbledore nodded reassuringly at him. "Take my right hand, please." James did as he was told. "Now, repeat yourself."

Remus held out the wand, utterly confused, as James cleared his throat. "Will you, Albus Dumbledore, swear to protect my child to the best of your ability from danger and death?"

"I will," said Dumbledore.

A thin tongue of flame erupted out of Remus's wand and fastened around their joined hands. In the dimly lit room, the light illuminated both James's and Dumbledore's faces. Remus watched, his mouth slightly open in shock, as the two stared deep into each other's eyes.

"Thank you," James said hoarsely. Dumbledore helped him to his feet.

"Return to Lily, James," Dumbledore said quietly. "This is a happy occasion. Make sure she knows it. Do not worry. This war cannot last forever." James nodded, threw a glance at Remus, and left the room.

Dumbledore watched him until long after the door had closed. "In these times…what is even left to live for, Remus, when those you love are in constant fear of death? No one should live like that."

"I agree, sir," Remus said quietly. "But what choice do we have? James understands that."

"I should not have allowed you all to join so young. I should have let you live your lives."

"Professor," Remus smiled sadly, "we would never have stayed in peace." Dumbledore shook his head but didn't say anything. Remus sat down in James's vacated armchair. "You would have protected James's child anyway, wouldn't you?"

Dumbledore nodded. "I would protect all of you, Remus. I wish I _could_ protect all of you. I took the Unbreakable Vow to allow James peace of mind. I fully intend to carry out my promise."

"And Peter?"

"Peter," Dumbledore sighed, "will be relocated."

Word of Lily's pregnancy brought a joy to the Order that they hadn't experienced in months. Word spread and, before long, all of her classmates from Hogwarts were sending letters or photos congratulating her and James. Countless parties were thrown (often without James or Lily's knowledge) and many pledges were made (usually by Sirius, who organized most of the parties). Almost anyone who knew them talked about Lily, James, and the new baby for the next two months, along with the unexpected news that Frank and Alice Longbottom were also expecting a child.

Around Christimas time, Dumbledore called the entire Order of the Phoenix together for a sort of celebration. It was the students' break, and every one of them had gone home. The Order packed into a deserted room that even the Marauders didn't fully recognize. It was extremely large, exquisitely decorated, and seemed a little too perfect in conjunction with all the people that were there.

The Order of the Phoenix had never all been together before. James and the others never knew what half of the rest of the Order was doing. Dumbledore, in some ways similar to Voldemort, only told people things that they needed to know. Obviously, this was the case with Remus. Only Dumbledore, Snape (who wasn't at the party, and probably wasn't even invited), and Moody knew, but they weren't about to tell anyone. Neither was Remus who was, by now, well accustomed to hiding things.

"Who's that guy?" James asked Frank Longbottom. James and Lily, upon arrival, had been accosted by all the women in the Order, asking them everything about the baby (who was only about two months old and not visible). Frank and Alice Longbottom had arrived, and they had also been immediately included in the discussion. James and Frank bore it as long as possible, but they had finally snuck away.

Both of them casually looked over and saw a man talking to Dumbledore in the corner. Both were laughing, and seemed very friendly.

"I have never seen him before," Frank muttered. "He looks kind of like Dumbledore, though, doesn't he?" It was true. His hair was significantly greyer, his beard more matted, and his clothes far more ragged – his entire appearance was completely different (and odd) – but there was an unmistakable feeling of similarity between him and Dumbledore.

"I wonder who he is…" James mused, and turned his attention to the throng of women in the middle of the room. He laughed, and gestured at them with his drink. "Glad we got free of that, though!"

Frank joined his laughter. "Me, too! You have no idea! Everyday, some new relation comes along that I didn't even know we had to say hello and congratulate Alice!"

James shook his head. "Almost our entire Hogwarts class has dropped in at least once these past two months! Always on about Lily. You'd think I had nothing to do with it," he winked.

Remus and Moody were sitting in a corner, also eyeing Dumbledore and the other man.

"You said that's Dumbledore's _brother_?" Remus asked in shock.

"Indeed," Moody growled with a nod. "I heard them talking before everyone got here."

Remus observed the other man again. "I guess I can see the resemblance…but, he really seems different from Dumbledore."

Moody shrugged. "Black's different from his brother, and look at Evans, er, well Potter now, I guess, and her sister."

"That's true," Remus said fairly. "What did you say his name was?"

"Aberforth."  


Sirius and the Prewett brothers were standing up against the opposite wall, locked in an intense discussion that allowed for no distractions or interruptions. "Yes," Sirius was saying, "but we can't rule out the Arrows. They're making a steady comeback this season."

"Yeah, but they're playing the Falcons this weekend," Gideon warned, taking a sip of his wine and glancing at the women. "And the Arrows haven't got a chance against them. You know how they play."

"I think a sure bet for at least the semifinals are the Prides," Fabian added. "Especially since the Weird Sisters are really starting to make headway on the charts."

Sirius and Gideon laughed. "What does the band's success have to do with the team's chances?"

Fabian shrugged. "Boosts morale? Besides, Meghan's been hanging around with their lead singer, Wagtail, and she's been in particularly high spirits since. Did you see her block that Quaffle last time?"

"No, sorry mate, I was a bit busy with work," Sirius snickered. "Still…I did get a chance to read up on the Wasps. Their new Beater…what's his name again?"

"Bagman," Fabian answered promptly.

"Right, Bagman. They say he's pretty good."

Peter was sitting off to the side, staring into a goblet of wine and thinking of his recent demotion. He'd been cast off from _Grendel's_ just as he was beginning to like the place. He glanced over at Dumbledore and his brother, and had to remind himself not to look angry. _Not in front of all these people, _he thought with a deep breath. _Keep it in…_

The clinking of a glass was suddenly heard, and all eyes turned towards the sound. Dumbledore was standing at the back of the room, his brother at his side. "It is useless to ask for your attention," Dumbledore began, "as it appears that I already have it. I know this will not be appreciated by all, but there has been a request for a group photograph."

Everyone looked around, and saw Marlene McKinnon blush bright red. "My mum wanted one!" she explained. Most people laughed, others rolled their eyes, and Moody stood up.

"That's not a good idea!" he growled. "What if it's found by the enemies?"

There was a general murmur of agreement. Paranoid though Moody may be, he was widely regarded as being usually right.

Dumbledore, however, was not perturbed. "I think we can risk it this once. We should have some photograph of this group. We shall place a special charm on each copy so that only a person with a password can access it."  


Again, the murmur of agreement. Moody sat down, muttering, but didn't try to stop it. The actual photo taking, however, proved to be chaotic. Everyone squeezed onto one of the walls, many hidden behind each other, when they realized that they didn't have a camera. As a groan was rising from the crowd, Dumbledore moved away. "Not to worry," he laughed. "I need a camera," he said to no one in particular, and then walked over to a small end table in the far corner of the room. To everyone's surprise, a large camera was sitting on top of it.

"How did…" Benjy Fenwick began, but simply shook his head.

The Marauders looked around at each other from all their different places. All of their faces said the same thing: _Why didn't we know about this room earlier?!_

Before long, the camera was hovering in mid-air, Dumbledore checking to make sure everyone could be seen. He tapped it with his wand and took his place beside his brother. "Remember to smile, everyone," he said, and was met with laughter.

Remus glanced over at Marlene McKinnon, who blushed scarlet and smiled. He returned it, feeling his own face a little warmer than usual.

Sirius muttered something in Dorcas Meadowes's ear and she stifled a giggle. Sirius raised his eyebrow and looked back at the camera.

James and Lily glanced at each other from across Peter's head, him feeling especially odd. "This is our first picture together," she said quietly.

James looked confused. "No it's not. We have that one of us in the park, remember?"

"No, no," Lily smiled. "The first time all _three_ of us have been in a picture together."

James looked down at her stomach and smiled. "How could I forget?"

In between them, Peter looked at the camera, unable to forget the fact that he had lost his mission to _Grendel's_ and Dumbledore's trust. He had grown rather good at deception, however, and forced a smile which, to all others, seemed genuine.

With a quick, bright flash of light, the Order of the Phoenix was immortalized.


End file.
